New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 30, 2011:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec 30, 2011
* NYNY1112.30

- Birds Mentioned:
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD+
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
KING EIDER
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Northern Gannet
BROWN PELICAN
American Bittern
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
American Woodcock
Iceland Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
Barred Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Chipping Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dickcissel
Baltimore Oriole
Pine Siskin

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, December 30th, at 9:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, BROWN PELICAN, EARED GREBE, SNOWY OWL, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, EURASIAN WIGEON, and more.

Before doing the Christmas Count summaries, a female-type MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was first spotted Monday and was still present today, southeast of Wading River and just north of the Calverton Grasslands in Suffolk County. To reach this site from Route 25, west of Riverhead, take Route 25A west a short distance to Hulse Landing Road, on the right. A parking turnout is available, just as you turn onto Hulse Landing Road. The bluebird often uses the snow fence in the field east of and parallel to 25A before you reach Hulse Landing Road. It has also been seen using fencing at the Haunted House, a few hundred yards down 25A, after Hulse Landing Road. It also disappears at times, today flying due north from the field, landing on distant utility wires before dropping down into back fields but it does seem to return regularly to the snow fence along 25A.

The Bronx-Westchester Christmas Count Monday recorded 115 species, highlights including a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE on the Van Cortlandt golf course, a EURASIAN WIGEON on Premium Mill Pond in Larchmont, a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE off City Island, 55 NORTHERN GANNETS, 8 GREAT EGRETS, 7 BLACK VULTURES, 8 BALD EAGLES and 9 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, CLAPPER RAIL, VIRGINIA RAIL, 7 RAZORBILLS, 4 COMMON RAVENS, 2 MARSH WRENS, 2 HOUSE WRENS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, CHIPPING SPARROW, and SALTMARSH SPARROW.

The Central Suffolk Count on Tuesday featured a few AMERICAN BITTERNS and RED-NECKED GREBES, BLACK VULTURE, over 125 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and 80 RAZORBILLS, a SNOWY OWL at Moriches Inlet, EASTERN PHOEBE, the previously mentioned MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and 3 PINE SISKINS. The SNOWY OWL was noted again around Moriches Inlet, west of Cupsogue County Park, on Thursday.

The Smithtown Count on Tuesday noted 107 species, including a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE on the Stony Brook Mill Pond, RED-NECKED GREBE, 36 NORTHERN GANNETS, AMERICAN BITTERN, GREEN HERON, BALD EAGLE, 3 VIRGINIA RAILS, 14 RAZORBILLS, HOUSE WREN, 3 MARSH WRENS, NASHVILLE WARBLER, PINE WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, and CHIPPING SPARROW.

A female-type RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, lingering in Manhattan, was still present today around plantings just east or left of the entrance to the planetarium off 81st Street at the American Museum of Natural History.

Also in Manhattan:
-- A DICKCISSEL continues in Inwood Hill Park with House Sparrows, seen recently in fields off Dyckman Street.

-- Bryant Park, below 42nd Street at the New York Public Library, continues to produce two YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, with other recent highlights including two OVENBIRDS and two COMMON YELLOWTHROATS.

-- An immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER remains in the northwestern part of the Hallett Sanctuary in the southeastern corner of Central Park, and other notables recently in the park featured a BARRED OWL, EASTERN PHOEBE, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

-- Swindler's Cove Park in upper Manhattan produced AMERICAN WOODCOCK and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER on Monday. The ORANGE-CROWNED was still present today.

The EARED GREBE continues at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in the bay, south of the West Pond trail, usually in the eastern section of the bay closer to Cross Bay Boulevard. A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was also spotted from the West Pond Tuesday.

The Floyd Bennett Field NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen at least to Tuesday but not reported since. Look for it along the northern runways.

On Monday afternoon an immature BROWN PELICAN was spotted on a bar inside Jones Inlet as viewed from Point Lookout, and three HARLEQUIN DUCKS were along the inlet jetty.

A female KING EIDER was still off Glen Cove on Tuesday.

At Shinnecock today, a few BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and RAZORBILLS were present off the inlet, and an ICELAND GULL visited Tiana Beach off Dune Road.

The influx of RAZORBILLS into western Long Island Sound continues, with small numbers to be encountered off both Nassau and Westchester shores.

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 TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~