New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 6, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan 6, 2012
* NYNY1201.06

- Birds Mentioned:
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD+
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD+
GRACE'S WARBLER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Black Brant
Blue-winged Teal
King Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
American Bittern
Great Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Rough-legged Hawk
Virginia Rail
Red Knot
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Laughing Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
Barn Owl
SNOWY OWL
Short-eared Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Shrike
Common Raven
House Wren
SEDGE WREN
Marsh Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dickcissel

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, January 6th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are GRACE'S WARBLER, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, DOVEKIE, SNOWY OWL, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, SEDGE WREN, and more.

The Southern Nassau Christmas Count on Sunday the 1st recorded 133 species, highlights including a female KING EIDER in Jones Inlet, 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS around the Point Lookout jetties, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, RED-NECKED GREBE, 20 GREAT EGRETS, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, RED KNOT and 3 WESTERN SANDPIPERS at Tobay, 8 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, WILSON'S SNIPE and 4 displaying AMERICAN WOODCOCK, singles of LAUGHING GULL, ICELAND GULL, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and GLAUCOUS GULL, 6 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and RAZORBILLS, 3 BARN OWLS, a very white SNOWY OWL in the dunes off Jones Beach West End field 2, 2 VIRGINIA RAILS, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. As appealing as these are though, the major excitement centered around a GRACE'S WARBLER discovered in pines at Point Lookout Town Park, this a first record for the Northeast and of course for New York, pending NYSARC approval.

The GRACE'S was relocated in the pine stand Monday through Wednesday, usually in the mornings, but could not be found Thursday or today. To reach this spot from the southbound Meadowbrook Parkway, take the Loop Causeway west to Point Lookout, keep to the left, cross Lido Boulevard at the light and enter Point Lookout Town Park. Follow the entrance road past the entrance booth to the stop sign, turn left and continue a short distance to the next stop sign. The warbler was found in the pine stand on the left. The SNOWY OWL was seen again at Jones Beach West End Tuesday and Thursday but does move around. Look for the GLAUCOUS GULL around the Point Lookout beaches and ICELAND GULL in the West End 2 parking lot.

Highlights from the Orient Count last Saturday included a HARLEQUIN DUCK, TURKEY VULTURE, 5 RAZORBILLS, VIRGINIA RAIL, RED-NECKED GREBE, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, a SEDGE WREN at Orient Beach State Park, plus HOUSE WREN, 3 MARSH WRENS, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was still visiting flowers at the American Museum of Natural History today. Look for it feeding at the small yellowish flowers on the west or right side of the entrance to the planetarium on 81st Street.

In Central Park an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues in the northwestern part of the fenced off Hallett Sanctuary in the southeast corner of the park.

A bright DICKCISSEL remains with House Sparrows at Inwood Hill Park in northern Manhattan, around the southwest portion of the park near the ball fields. Also there today were a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER and a NASHVILLE WARBLER.

In Bryant Park, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT continues in plantings along the Fifth Avenue side in front of the New York Public Library. Unfortunately the second CHAT was found deceased, but also noted there this week have been OVENBIRD, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, plus an AMERICAN WOODCOCK today.

An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was still in Swindler's Cove Park in upper Manhattan Sunday.

The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE remains at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was seen on the West Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last Sunday, and watch for the EARED GREBE in the bay, south of the West Pond trail.

A "Black Brant" subspecies of BRANT was spotted from the boat launch area of Floyd Bennett Field Thursday, and a NORTHERN SHRIKE was in the northwestern field today, with 5 RED-NECKED GREBES offshore in the bay.

Two ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS have been in Kissena Park in Queens lately.

The MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD in Calverton has not been seen since Monday off the Route 25A fields. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was still present Monday along the fields behind the powerlines east of Hulse Landing Road.

In Montauk Point a DOVEKIE was found between the restaurant and the lighthouse last Sunday, and reported again on Tuesday.

A female KING EIDER and an ICELAND GULL were noted off Camp Hero Sunday, and other lingering birds in that area include a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at the Deep Hollow Ranch off Route 27, RED-NECKED GREBES at Culloden Point, a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lazy Point in Napeague, and a GLAUCOUS GULL at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton.

A SNOWY OWL has been present on an island at SHINNECOCK east of the Ponquogue Bridge lately. Look for SHORT-EARED OWL and AMERICAN BITTERN along Dune Road, and two COMMON RAVENS were in Hampton Bays Monday.

For information to sign up for the pelagic trip out of Freeport on Saturday, January 14th, call See Life Paulagics now at (215) 234-6805, or visit their website at http://www.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 TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~