New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 24, 2010:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 24, 2010
* NYNY1012.24

- Birds mentioned

VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
KING EIDER
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Northern Gannet
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Virginia Rail
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
American Woodcock
Black-headed Gull
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Black-legged Kittiwake
Black Skimmer
Razorbill
Barred Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Lincoln's Sparrow
Boat-tailed Grackle
RED CROSSBILL
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL

- 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, December 24th 2010 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are VARIED THRUSH, EARED GREBE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, LARK SPARROW, RED CROSSBILL and WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.

Certainly one of the most unusual Christmas Count birds so far has to be the VARIED THRUSH in the Central Park section of the Lower Hudson Count. The thrush tending to wander somewhat lately does continue to frequent the edges around the Maintenance Field and buildings just south of the 79th Street transverse. The closest park entrance is at 5th Avenue and 79th Street and continuing across the roadway to the maintenance buildings and field. Also in the park has been an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER usually found near the southeast corner of the Sheep Meadow.

The Montauk Christmas Count last Saturday reported 129 species highlights featuring 6 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, a drake KING EIDER off the south side of Montauk Point, 6 RED-NECKED GREBES, 2 BALD EAGLES and 4 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS; at Gardiner's Island 3 VIRGINIA RAILS, an AMERICAN WOODCOCK, 2 ICELAND GULLS, 4 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 176 RAZORBILLS, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

The Brooklyn Count on Saturday netted 125 species including a HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER still present today off the eastern end of Fort Tilden, RED-NECKED GREBE, 7 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, 3 BLACK SKIMMERS at Coney Island, COMMON RAVEN, 6 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS along with 2 PINE WARBLERS, 2 PALM WARBLERS and 2 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS, LINCOLN'S SPARROW and 1 RED CROSSBILL.

The Northern Nassau Count Saturday tallied 105 species featuring GREEN HERON, ORANGE-CROWNED and PALM WARBLERS and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

On Sunday the Captree Count recorded 119 species highlights including 2 GREAT EGRETS, OSPREY, BALD EAGLE, 2 VIRGINIA RAILS, ICELAND GULL, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, 5 RAZORBILLS, EASTERN PHOEBE, MARSH WREN, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, OVENBIRD, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and 8 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES.

The Sagaponack Count Sunday netted 114 species featuring 5 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and a CACKLING GOOSE these usually either on Hook Pond or on a field along Further Lane in East Hampton. A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, back again off Bay Avenue at Long Beach in Noyack, 4 RED-NECKED GREBES, an EARED GREBE off Main Beach in East Hampton, 2 BALD EAGLES, 31 RAZORBILLS, 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, HOUSE WREN, 6 CHIPPING SPARROWS and 3 VESPER SPARROWS, 2 RED CROSSBILLS over Northwest and a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL at Hook Creek on Pondview Road in East Hampton.

The Queens Count Sunday among its 112 species featured SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, COMMON RAVEN and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH.

The Greenwich-Stamford Count Sunday, including parts of Westchester County, tallied 108 species including RED-NECKED GREBE, 3 plus NORTHERN GANNETS, 4 BLACK VULTURES, BALD EAGLE, BARRED OWL, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, MARSH WREN, COMMON RAVEN and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

In Brooklyn the adult BLACK-HEADED GULL in Bay Ridge was relocated Thursday and seen again today while an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was also found at the same location this being on the fishing pier at 69th Street which is near the Owl's Head waste water treatment plant where BLACK-HEADED GULL could also be found last winter. Also in Brooklyn today 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS were spotted off Beach 169th Street at Fort Tilden.

Out on eastern Long Island a drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE has returned to the north fork where it usually can be found off the eastern end of the Route 25 causeway between East Marion and Orient. Also on Monday the now 2nd year GLAUCOUS GULL, not in full health, was still near the Orient Point Ferry Terminal.

Also on the north fork a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was on Marratooka Lake off New Suffolk Avenue in Mattituck last Saturday. Today another GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted on Tung Ting Pond off Center Shore Road in Centerport.

The LARK SPARROW found last week at the Calverton Grasslands at the former Grumman Airport was still present today along Grumman Boulevard. The sparrow is usually with other sparrows along the chain link fence west of the main entrance to the grassland complex and often near the closed entrance a couple of hundred yards west of the main entrance. A COMMON RAVEN was also noted at the grasslands last Sunday.

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

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Happy holidays.

- End transcript