New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 25, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* February 25, 2011
* NYNY1102.25

- Birds Mentioned:
BARNACLE GOOSE+
VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
King Eider
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Rough-legged Hawk
Red Knot
Purple Sandpiper
American Woodcock
BLACK-HEADED GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
COMMON REDPOLL

- Not Reported This Week:
WESTERN TANAGER+


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 nysarc1 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

~ Transcript ~

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

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483
Tony Lauro (631) 734-4126

Compilers: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Karen Fung

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, February 25th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are VARIED THRUSH, ROSS'S GOOSE, BARNACLE GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, NORTHERN SHRIKE, and a REDPOLL influx.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE has returned to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. With the West Pond thawing out, the Barrow's appeared Wednesday on the pond, and on Thursday was spotted out in the bay, west of the West Pond. Its pattern the past couple of years has been to roost on the West Pond and feed in the bay, in the company of Common Goldeneye. An AMERICAN WOODCOCK displaying at Jamaica Bay Refuge Thursday indicates that they should be present now in most suitable locations.

The Central Park VARIED THRUSH continues to move about, but the best shot at finding it continues to be on the slope east of the Ramble shed on the south side of the 79th Street Transverse.

A late winter influx of COMMON REDPOLLS has been occurring lately -- a flashback to years when a second push of winter finches late in the season into our area was a more regular phenomenon. Redpolls have been found in good numbers all along the south shore of Long Island since last Sunday, and in lesser numbers inland. Some larger counts have included about 120 at Hither Hills State Park and others in the Montauk area Sunday, and on Wednesday about 20 at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, 130 at Robert Moses State Park, and 340 at Jones Beach West End, with about 100 Thursday afternoon at Smith Point County Park in Shirley. They've also been seen at numerous other locations.

A couple of RAZORBILLS were noted off Fort Tilden Wednesday, when at least two RED KNOT were roosting with Black-bellied Plovers at the Roosevelt Nature Center at Jones Beach West End.

The BARNACLE GOOSE was seen again Tuesday on the Glen Cove Golf Course off Lattingtown Road, and COMMON RAVENS are back around their nesting site in Roslyn.

Continuing east, on Sunday a GLAUCOUS GULL was on the McDonald's Pond [aka Orowoc Lake in Islip] on the north side of Route 27A, just east of Bay Shore. A couple of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS continue at the former Grumman Airport grasslands in Calverton, and an ICELAND GULL appeared yesterday at Iron Pier in Northville.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still on Noyack Bay on Sunday. Look for it in the southwestern corner of the bay. A good vantage point is the Long Beach parking area that is adjacent to Long Beach Road, Route 60, just east of Noyack.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted with a few Bonapartes last Saturday afternoon off Main Beach in East Hampton, and on Sunday an immature BLACK-HEADED was with a larger number of Bonapartes off Hither Hills State Park in Montauk.

The ROSS'S GOOSE was spotted again Saturday in the field west of Scuttle Hole Road north of Water Mill. The goose was seen in a Canada flock off Cook's Lane, but disappeared in a dip in the rolling fields and could require patience to find.

A CACKLING GOOSE was still in East Hampton, and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was on Sag Pond in Bridgehampton Saturday, with another LESSER BLACK-BACKED continuing at Lazy Point in Napeague.

Last Friday the Napeague NORTHERN SHRIKE put in another appearance, this along Route 27 near the Clam Shack east of Napeague Meadow Road.

26 PURPLE SANDPIPERS were still off Ditch Plains Sunday, and an ICELAND GULL continues along the beach west of the Montauk Harbor Inlet.

Off the Camp Hero Overlook at Montauk Point Sunday, the number of KING EIDER had grown to eight, with two immature males and six females.

We have no recent word on the male WESTERN TANAGER at Montauk, which could be looked for at the house on the right at the intersection of Big Reed Path and Deer Way, north of Route 27. Please stay on the roadways there.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or days 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 TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~