New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 5, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 5, 2010
* NYNY1003.05

- Birds mentioned
BARNACLE GOOSE+
WESTERN GREBE+
MEW GULL+
Ivory Gull+ (northern New York -- not seen since Tuesday)
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Trumpeter Swan
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian subspecies "Common Teal")
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Black Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Woodcock
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Lapland Longspur

- Transcript

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc3 AT nybirds.org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY 14428

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert Number: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, March 5th 2010 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are WESTERN GREBE, MEW GULL, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, HARLEQUIN DUCK and "EURASIAN" GREEN-WINGED TEAL.

First, there have been no reports of the IVORY GULL in northern New York since Tuesday.

Last Sunday, what would be the same WESTERN GREBE traveling around the coastlines of Brooklyn and Queens and perhaps also parts of northern New Jersey was spotted on the ocean off Riis Park. Resting much of the time the bird drifted west with the currents and was last seen moving past the Fisherman's parking lot at the West End of Fort Tilden and heading towards Breezy Point.

The MEW GULL in Brooklyn was present today on the lawn just south of the pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Belt Parkway near Bay 16th Street where parking is usually available. It was seen just after noontime and if not there look along the Gravesend Bay shoreline from the promenade.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was on the West Pond later Sunday afternoon and seen again on the bay west of the West Pond on Thursday. There is an interesting gathering of GREEN-WINGED TEAL around the southwest corner of the West Pond at the bay. On Sunday, included among the 20 to 30 green-wingeds were one pure looking drake Eurasian form referred to as Common Teal and 2 other males showing characteristics of Common Teal. One however has very faint vestiges of the vertical white stripe on the side that is a character of American green-wings and the other has a more prominent vertical stripe but also features a slightly less than normal horizontal scapular stripe of a Common Teal. The later two would by appearance be presumed to be hybrids between the 2 forms of Green-winged Teal and who knows about the females present. These birds were all still present there on Thursday.

The 2 BLACK VULTURES, presumably setting up to nest again at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, were seen again Sunday spotted from the Brooklyn side of the Verrazzano Bridge.

A BARNACLE GOOSE was found among Canadas at Sunken Meadow State Park on Tuesday near the main parking lot as this is likely the same Barnacle that was present there late last year keep an eye out also for the Pink-footed Goose to reappear there.

Last Sunday 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were present with Horned Larks on a runway at Floyd Bennett Field and on Staten Island a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was spotted at Silver Lake Park.

In Central Park AMERICAN WOODCOCK were appearing as of last Saturday and 4 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were seen also on the move.

While continuing as of today around Jones Inlet were 6 HARLEQUIN DUCKS around the Point Lookout jetties, 22 COMMON EIDER in the inlet and 3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS at West End these today off the southwest corner of the main West End 2 parking lot. An immature ICELAND GULL was also on the bar by the Coast Guard Station. A HARP SEAL, most amazingly, was seen along the beach going out to the West End jetty.

At Smith Point County Park in Shirley a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was present Monday and a RED-NECKED GREBE was on the ocean Tuesday east of the parking lot.

The 4 immature GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE seen frequently along Further Lane during hunting season were found yesterday on a corn field along Route 114 next to a nursery in Easthampton.

The 2 TRUMPETER SWANS remain on Upper Lake in Yaphank through yesterday.

Birds at Croton Point Park last Sunday included the wintering ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in the first campground and 2 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or during the day except Sunday call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript