New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 2, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* March 2, 2012
* NYNY1203.02

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

Greater White-fronted Goose
Wood Duck
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (EURASIAN FORM)
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
American Woodcock
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
Orange-crowned Warbler
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (AUDUBON'S FORM)
Pine Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle


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, March 2nd at 7:00pm. The highlights of this tape are RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, EURASIAN FORM OF GREEN-WINGED TEAL, SNOWY OWL, NORTHERN SHRIKE, and AUDUBON'S FORM OF YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER.

Unfortunately, not much has changed recently in our area. COMMON GRACKLES and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS have arrived in numbers, SNOWY OWLS seem to have withdrawn or are not being reported, and AMERICAN WOODCOCK are now displaying in certain areas. Their activity should be on the increase in the next few weeks. COMMON RAVEN presence (and in some cases nesting activity) also continues at a few Long Island locations, including in Nassau County and out in Hampton Bays, as well as in the Bronx and New Rochelle in southern Westchester County, their long anticipated expansion into southern New York now definitely a reality.

On the rarities front, in New York City the RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD remains at the American Museum of Natural History. Look for it on either side of the entrance to the planetarium on the south side of West 81st Street, just west of Central Park West. Watch for the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER around the northwestern corner of the Hallett Sanctuary in the southeastern corner of Central Park. Look for the YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT in the southwestern corner of Union Square, just east of 14th Street.

The adult GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx was present again on the Parade Ground last Saturday.

To see the drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, you need to arrive early or stay late. The bird overnights on the pond, but tends to fly out to the Bay by 7:00am or even earlier, generally not returning until very late in the afternoon. Otherwise, look for it with Common Goldeneye in the Bay, west of the West Pond.

The NORTHERN SHRIKE at Floyd Bennett Field continues to be quite elusive. Watch for it especially along the woodland edges around Area G, where it was seen last Sunday and Tuesday.

An overwintering ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER remains along the corridor at Kissena Park in Queens.

A Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen last Saturday on Smith Pond in Rockville Centre, with three WOOD DUCKS now also arriving locally at Hempstead Lake State Park.

The Audubon's form of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was still present Sunday at Sunken Meadow State Park. Look for it especially along the south side of the canal, south of the easternmost parking lot, usually with chickadees and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

At Jones Beach West End, lingering birds featured the overwintering PIPING PLOVER and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER near the base of the West End jetty on Monday, with a RAZORBILL also in the inlet, while arrivals featured three TREE SWALLOWS Monday and EASTERN BLUEBIRD today.

In Patchogue recently, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a PINE WARBLER were present at least through Tuesday in plantings along the south end of Patchogue Lake.

One SNOWY OWL still in the region was seen on Hick's Island today, off the end of Flying Point Road in Napeague, where the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL also continues. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was also still at the Deep Hollow Ranch off Route 27, east of the town of Montauk, today.

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 ~