New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 26, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 26, 2010
* NYNY1003.26

- Birds mentioned

WESTERN GREBE+
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE+ (Ulster County)

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

TUNDRA SWAN
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian subspecies "Common Teal")
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Black Vulture
SANDHILL CRANE
Piping Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Iceland Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Razorbill
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
waterthrush species
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird

- 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 26th 2010 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are SANDHILL CRANE, WESTERN GREBE, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, TUNDRA SWAN, EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Last Saturday afternoon 2 SANDHILL CRANES were spotted and nicely photographed on a corn field along Seven Ponds Road in Southampton but subsequent visits Saturday and Sunday could not relocate the cranes which have lots of fields to choose from out on eastern Long Island.

Conceivably the same WESTERN GREBE seen several times during the winter along the Brooklyn waterfront and off Riis Park / Fort Tilden appeared Saturday off Staten Island at a site where one had visited several times in recent years. This bird occurred in Prince's Bay between Lemon Creek Park and the fishing pier off Hylan Boulevard. The fishing pier parking lot is across Hylan Boulevard from the end of Sharrott's Avenue and the pier provides a good vantage point for scanning for the grebe. This site is just north of Mount Loretto Park.

Among the selection of seasonally expected migrants occurring lately was a rather early PROTHONOTARY WARBLER seen briefly on Wednesday at Smith Point County Park in Shirley.

Another warbler a little ahead of schedule was a waterthrush heard chipping in the phragmites around Big John's Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday. The calendar suggesting this would be a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH but the habitat is more typical of NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH.

Interesting has been the number of BLACK VULTURES seen in New York City lately. Two were noted last Saturday flying over Great Kills Park on Staten Island and these were followed by 3 over Lookout Hill in Prospect Park on Sunday and on Wednesday 2 appeared over Prospect again and 3 were spotted over Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. It is possible that these sightings involve the same individuals and perhaps are linked to the birds nesting at Fort Wadsworth on northern Staten Island but they certainly are indicative of this species northward expansion.

While on Prospect Park recent migrants enjoyed there have featured an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER seen again Tuesday near the Lullwater and GREAT EGRET, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, EASTERN PHOEBE, TREE SWALLOW, PINE WARBLER from Saturday FIELD SPARROW, CHIPPING SPARROWS and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Central Park has received a similar mix including CHIPPING SPARROW on Saturday, 2 PINE WARBLERS on Wednesday and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD in both the Ramble and at the North End.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen again Sunday at Caumsett State Park north of Lloyd Harbor in the woods west of Fresh Pond which is north of the mansion. Other migrants there featured 5 EASTERN PHOEBES, 7 TREE SWALLOWS and 2 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS.

The Eurasion form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL known as Common Teal was seen again at Nissequogue River State Park which is southeast of Sunken Meadow State Park on Saturday. The 2 drakes reported from the pond by southwest corner of the parking lot. Be aware too that hybrids have been in the area recently. PIPING PLOVER was also back at Sunken Meadow Saturday.

Out east 2 TUNDRA SWANS and a ICELAND GULL were on Sag Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday along with 2 PIPING PLOVER singles of RED-NECKED GREBE and RAZORBILL occurred offshore. Also on Sunday a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE appeared off Ditch Plains in Montauk and 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a WILSON'S SNIPE were in the Deep Hollow Ranch in the Roosevelt Sanctuary area. A LITTLE BLUE HERON appeared at Little Reed Pond in Montauk Thursday. Numbers of HORNED GREBES were also out east and elsewhere along the coast lately most in some state of plumage molt making separation from the locally much rarer Eared Grebe more of a challenge.

A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE reported early in the week from Mohonk Preserve in Ulster County has not been relocated.

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.