New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 18, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 18, 2011
* NYNY1102.18

- Birds mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
VARIED THRUSH+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Ross's Goose
TUNDRA SWAN
King Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Northern Gannet
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Purple Sandpiper
American Woodcock
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Razorbill
Short-eared Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Redpoll

- 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, February 18th 2011 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are WESTERN TANAGER, VARIED THRUSH, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, NORTHERN SHRIKE and more.

Last Sunday's pelagic trip canceled due to sea conditions many birders instead visited the Montauk area where the most unexpected find was a ROSS'S GOOSE found along Scuttlehole Road between Watermill and Bridgehampton. The Ross's was with Canada Geese in a field on the west side of Scuttlehole Road a short distance south of frozen Short's Pond. It was also there Monday.

The WESTERN TANAGER was still present yesterday in Montauk. To reach this site from Montauk Highway Route 27 east of the town of Montauk take East Lake Drive north to Big Reed Path take Big Reed Path to its end at a "T" intersection with a very short road called Deer Way and park along the roadway. Look especially at the feeders on the back side of the house on the right side of the "T" intersection. This requires looking over a shrubby area along the roadside and a telescope is helpful.

At Montauk Point 4 KING EIDER, an immature male and 3 females, continue to be seen off the Camp Hero Overlook and another female appeared off the restaurant Sunday. Several dozen RAZORBILLS were cruising about among the very numerous scoters and Common Eider but few NORTHERN GANNETS were present. An Montauk Harbor Inlet 2 immature ICELAND GULLS continue along the beach in Small Rocky Point to the west of the west jetty. About 30 PURPLE SANDPIPERS were on rocks off Ditch Plains and at the end of Lazy Point Road in Napeague, where an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues, a RED-NECKED GREBE was lounging off the boat ramp Sunday.

A TUNDRA SWAN was first spotted Sunday on Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton where an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was present. But the swan flew west to a corn field used by Canada Geese along Horse Mill Lane on the north side of Mecox Bay. An adult ICELAND GULL was also there and the TUNDRA SWAN was seen back on Sagg Pond again on Wednesday.

On Sunday and Monday the drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was back on unfrozen Noyak Bay just east of Noyak. The Barrow's is usually with Common Goldeneye in the southwest corner of the bay and this area well viewed from the west end of the Long Beach parking lot that parallels Long Beach Road Route 60.

Single immature GLAUCOUS GULL and ICELAND GULLS were on Lake Agawam in Southampton today and a small number of SHORT-EARED OWLS have been along Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet lately.

In Central Park the VARIED THRUSH was still present today but is moving about a bit. The most reliable spot still seems to be in the maintenance area just south of the 79th Street park transverse where it is often foraging on the ground on the east side of the Rambles shed building. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER also continues to the south of the Sheep Meadow but may be visiting trees on either the north or south side of the 66th Street transverse.

A BARNACLE GOOSE was present Tuesday and Thursday with Canada Geese on Glen Cove Golf Course off Lattingtown Road.

Four GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, probably roosting overnight on Belmont Lake State Park, were seen last Monday in Farmingdale at St. Charles Cemetery just west of Wellwood Avenue and the day before at nearby Pine Lawn Cemetery a little north of St. Charles.

A NORTHERN SHRIKE was spotted Thursday in northern Nassau County at the Christy Estate South on the south side of Muttontown Road. The address for this park is 1864 Muttontown Road in Syosset.

At Jones Beach West End Thursday and today about 50 COMMON REDPOLL were feeding near the end of the trail to the dunes at the southwestern corner of parking lot 2. Also Thursday 9 RAZORBILLS were seen moving by off the jetty and across Jones Inlet at Point Lookout where an immature ICELAND GULL, an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and 5 HARLEQUIN DUCKS [were].

The ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen again last Sunday at the Roosevelt Nature Center.

At the Grumman grasslands in Calverton birds during the past week have included ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, BALD EAGLE, COMMON RAVEN and EASTERN BLUEBIRD.

An ICELAND GULL was at Iron Pier in Northville Wednesday.

An AMERICAN WOODCOCK was at Rockefeller Center Manhattan Wednesday evening and an OSPREY was back in Cutchogue last Saturday.

For information on the rescheduled pelagic trip from Freeport now on March 27th visit the Sea Life Paulagics website: http://paulagics.com

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. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript