New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 2, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 2, 2011
* NYNY1112.02

- Birds mentioned

WHITE-WINGED DOVE+
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Northern Gannet
BROWN PELICAN
American Bittern
Laughing Gull
LITTLE GULL
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Bonaparte's Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Royal Tern
Parasitic Jaeger
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dickcissel
Troupial+ (kept as a common cage bird)

- 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 2nd 2011 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are WHITE-WINGED DOVE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BROWN PELICAN, EARED GREBE, SNOWY OWL, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, ROSS'S GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE and much more.

A WHITE-WINGED DOVE was seen and photographed Sunday and Monday in a backyard in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn but has not been reported since. This perhaps the same bird present in Stamford Connecticut to last Friday.

An immature female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD continues at the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers joined as of Friday by an immature male RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. To reach the preserve, from Sawmill River Parkway, Exit 9, take Executive Boulevard to North Broadway, go right on North Broadway a short distance to a left onto Dudley Street. The Lenoir parking lot is on the left and walk to the butterfly garden. Two other hummingbirds at private feeders on eastern Long Island also appear to be RUFOUS.

At Jones Beach West End the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was last noted along the fisherman's access road west of the Coast Guard Station last Saturday. A BROWN PELICAN was reported flying into the inlet and past the Meadowbrook Parkway Bridge on Monday.

The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge EARED GREBE has not been spotted recently in the bay south of the West Pond where it had been staying but was reported on the West Pond on Monday. Two AMERICAN BITTERNS were south of the West Pond Sunday.

As part of the late fall influx of SNOWY OWLS into the northeast one was photographed by a fisherman early in the week on Hoffman Island - a small island off the east shore of Staten Island a couple of miles south of the Verrazzano Bridge.

The Brooklyn ROSS'S GOOSE has recently been spending much of its time at the Brooklyn Golf Center on the west side of Rockaway Boulevard but was seen again Wednesday and Thursday back across the boulevard near the Aviator's Sports Building at Floyd Bennett Field.

An immature LITTLE GULL reported off Breezy Point Saturday was perhaps the same individual seen Sunday off Riis Park while a real life air/sea rescue was going on offshore. Also on the ocean in the Riis to the Rockaways area Sunday were hundreds of BONAPARTE'S GULLS feeding with LAUGHING GULLS and other gulls offshore the activity pulling in several PARASITIC JAEGERS from midday through the afternoon. In addition 2 to 3 RAZORBILLS and RED-NECKED GREBE were seen as well as good numbers of NORTHERN GANNETS, scoters (WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, SURF SCOTER & BLACK SCOTER) and loons (COMMON LOON & RED-THROATED LOON).

On Saturday an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was reported from the Riis Park / Rockaways stretch of beach and an immature male HARLEQUIN DUCK was spotted at the jetties by the Fort Tilden's fisherman's lot. An immature GLAUCOUS GULL was present near this lot Tuesday through Thursday.

The Van Cortlandt Park GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen last Friday.

The YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW were still in Bryant Park Manhattan on Thursday.

A lot of excitement was caused by a TROUPIAL seen Monday to Wednesday in Roslyn Long Island. This non-migratory Black-backed or Venezuelan Troupial also introduced into Puerto Rico is a common cage bird and is endangered in its native territory due to extensive trapping.

On Tuesday the seawatch off Robert Moses State Park produced 1 PARASITIC JAEGER, 1 ROYAL TERN and 66 RAZORBILLS. Out east growing numbers of RAZORBILLS off Montauk Point peaked at about 400 mostly moving by on Wednesday and other birds at the point featured a male HARLEQUIN DUCK last Friday and occasional BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES.

An immature BROWN PELICAN was present Saturday and Sunday along the east side of Fort Pond Bay and scattered RED-NECKED GREBES have been most reliable in Fort Pond Bay. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was still at the Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk to Wednesday and single CACKLING GEESE were at Agawam Pond and in Noyack Sunday.

Gulls featured an ICELAND GULL at Montauk Harbor Inlet Sunday and a few LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS including a winter resident at Napeague.

The landbirds out east featured a DICKCISSEL in Ditch Plains and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and 2 YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS at Mecox all on Sunday. Drake EURASIAN WIGEON were at West Lake in Patchogue recently and in Setauket Harbor Tuesday and as of last Friday the North Fork drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was back along the south side of the Route 25 causeway between East Marion and Orient.

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