New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 13, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 13, 2012
* NYNY1201.13

- Birds mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD+
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Razorbill
Barn Owl
SNOWY OWL
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN SHRIKE
SEDGE WREN
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's form)
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Dickcissel

- 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, January 13th 2012 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, EARED GREBE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, SEDGE WREN, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BARNACLE GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, SNOWY OWL and more.

Firstly, the pelagic trip from Freeport scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed, due to the weather, until January 28th.

In Manhattan a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD continues in flowers alongside the entrance to the planetarium off 81st Street at the American Museum of Natural History though it has also been reported recently in adjacent Central Park southeast of Tanner's Spring. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER remains in the northwestern part of the fenced off Hallett Sanctuary in the southeastern section of Central Park.

The YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT lingering at Bryant Park has been frequenting the front of the library off 5th Avenue just south of 42nd Street while in northern Manhattan a bright DICKCISSEL continues with House Sparrows at Inwood Hill Park usually around the ballfields in the southwestern portion of the park. Two ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were at Swindler's Cove in northern Manhattan recently and in The Bronx the adult GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE can still be found around the lake, golf course or Parade Grounds at Van Cortlandt Park. Prospect Park too has had ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER recently along with a lingering BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER.

At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge the EARED GREBE continues in the bay south of the West Pond usually much closer to and best seen from the Broad Channel community. The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE also remains in the bay seen Sunday with a dozen Common Goldeneyes fairly far out as viewed from the trail around the southwestern corner of the West Pond. A drake EURASIAN WIGEON can be found on the East Pond as viewed from the Big John's Pond overlook, the Wigeon usually a little to the north. Also a BARN OWL can sometimes be seen in the owl box on the north side of Big John's Pond visible from the blind on the south side. Please view the owl only from the blind and do nothing to provoke it. On Saturday among the many Snow Geese moving over the East Pond was a very small goose possibly a ROSS'S GOOSE, something to look for.

The NORTHERN SHRIKE was still present along the northern runways at Floyd Bennett Field last Monday but it can be very elusive and at least 7 RED-NECKED GREBES were counted from the boat launch area there on Sunday. The adult BLACK-HEADED GULL continues at Owl's Head waste water treatment plant in Brooklyn observable from the down slope at Owl's Head Park adjacent to 68th Street which gives a good view of the active plant area. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was by the Silver Gull Club just west of Fort Tilden's fisherman's lot Sunday.

At Jones Beach West End a very white male SNOWY OWL has been ranging around the dunes from the Roosevelt Nature Center down towards the West End jetty. Please enjoy but do not disturb this owl. On Sunday a GLAUCOUS GULL was seen on the flats off the Fireman's Park at Point Lookout and up to 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS continue along the Point Lookout jetties with a RAZORBILL noted in Jones Inlet Wednesday when a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was also present at Point Lookout.

An Audubon's form of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was spotted at Sunken Meadow State Park last Wednesday.

On eastern Long Island a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was still present at least to Wednesday in Calverton most frequently seen foraging along the snow fence on the east side of Route 25A just east of the intersection with Hulse Landing Road. The bluebird also uses the field next to the Haunted House a little farther down Route 25A and fields along the east side of Hulse Landing Road to the north where a NORTHERN SHRIKE has occurred along the power lines there.

A BARNACLE GOOSE has been frequenting the pond in Eastport that is on the north side of Route 27A (Montauk Highway) on the east side of Eastport. If not there the Canada flock it is with might be in fields near the intersections of Route 27 and Route 51 a short distance west of the pond.

The SNOWY OWL has been staying on an island in Shinnecock Bay east of the Ponquogue Bridge scannable from the end of Road I. Three GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and a CACKLING GOOSE continue to visit the fields along Further Lane in East Hampton. The SEDGE WREN from the Orient Christmas Bird Count has been re-found a couple of times at Orient Point State Park in phragmites lying off the roadway.

ICELAND GULLS lately have featured one at Iron Pier at the end of Pier Road in Northville and one around the Montauk Harbor entrance. Forty RAZORBILLS were counted at Montauk Point Saturday and RED-NECKED GREBES continue in that area.

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