New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 1, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* April 1, 2011
* NYNY1104.01

- Birds Mentioned:
Common Murre+
VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-throated Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Northern Gannet
Bald Eagle
American Kestrel
Piping Plover
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Razorbill


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, hard copy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hard copy 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 (during the day except Sunday)
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, April 1st, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are pelagic trip results, VARIED THRUSH, BLACK-HEADED DUCK, HARLEQUIN DUCK, and important announcements.

A pelagic trip, run last Saturday by See Life Paulagics out of Freeport, aboard the Captain Lou VII, cruised in shore waters before heading out about 25 miles. In shore, 230+ RAZORBILLS were spotted, including some in breeding plumage. Farther offshore, a couple of COMMON MURRES put in a brief appearance. Good numbers of gulls following the boat due to continuous chumming included a GLAUCOUS GULL, four ICELAND GULLS, and eight LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS of various ages. About 250 NORTHERN GANNETS were also counted, but two Great Skuas harassing an Atlantic Puffin well out in front of the boat were unfortunately not detected by any of the trip participants.

At Point Lookout the six HARLEQUIN DUCKS lingering there were nicely viewed as the boat returned to port, and a PIPING PLOVER was seen later on the Pt Lookout beaches.

Last Saturday a RED-NECKED GREBE was at Jones Beach field 10, off the fishing piers.

The Central Park VARIED THRUSH has been being seen as recently as last Sunday, both in the maintenance area and north of the 79th Street Transverse near the south side of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, this thrush, after close study of photographs and museum specimens, has been reidentified as an orange variant of Aztec Thrush, thus presumably a new record for New York State.

On eastern Long Island, a sea watch off Main Beach in East Hampton last Sunday morning, among a decent movement of sea ducks, also noted 49 NORTHERN GANNETS, 151 RED-THROATED LOONS, and 32 RAZORBILLS. Also Sunday at Ditch Plains in Montauk, an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was found in a small gathering of Bonaparte's Gulls, and lingering LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were seen at Mecox Bay and at Napeague. Single BALD EAGLES were spotted on the Forge River in Mastic Saturday and then Flanders Sunday, and the count of AMERICAN KESTRELS using the Grasslands at the old Grumman Airport in Calverton reached 15 on Tuesday.

Three RED-NECKED GREBES were still off Read Sanctuary at Playland Park in Rye, Westchester County, on Wednesday and Thursday, and NORTHERN GANNETS are occurring regularly off there.

Meteorologists, after analyzing recent weather phenomena, have announced a postponement of spring till sometime in mid-July. And, as a reminder, the New York City - imposed ban on the use of binoculars in city parks goes into effect today.

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 TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~