New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 21, 2012:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 21, 2012
* NYNY1212.21

- Birds mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
COMMON MURRE+
CAVE SWALLOW+
LE CONTE'S SPARROW+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Blue-winged Teal
TUFTED DUCK
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
BLACK RAIL
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Parasitic Jaeger
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
BLACK GUILLEMOT
SNOWY OWL
Barred Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Pine Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Nelson's Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Indigo Bunting
Boat-tailed Grackle
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll

- 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@nybirds.org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
486 High Street
Victor, NY 14564

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 21st 2012 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are TUFTED DUCK, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, BLACK RAIL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, DOVEKIE, COMMON MURRE, BLACK GUILLEMOT, SNOWY OWL, CAVE SWALLOW, LE CONTE'S SPARROW and much more.

The first Saturday in this year's Christmas Count period proved to be a good one with the Brooklyn Count leading the way with 135 species. Highlights included a EURASIAN WIGEON at Marine Park, the drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE back again hopefully for the winter at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, RED-NECKED GREBE, their first AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN soaring over Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 37 RAZORBILLS, 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, a first CAVE SWALLOW, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS, NELSON'S SPARROW, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, 2 RED and 75 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and 2 COMMON REDPOLLS.

The Montauk Count was not far behind with 132 species including their first CACKLING GOOSE, 2 EURASIAN WIGEON, 4 RED-NECKED GREBES, 2 BALD EAGLES and 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS on Gardiner's Island, 1 ICELAND and 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 58 DOVEKIES and 580 RAZORBILLS, the SNOWY OWL on Hick's Island off the tip of Napeague, SHORT-EARED and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, EASTERN PHOEBE, ORANGE-CROWNED and PINE WARBLERS, 146 RED and 104 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 6 COMMON REDPOLLS and a first BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE. For count period only at Montauk were a COMMON MURRE and a BLACK GUILLEMOT off the point Monday morning and the immature BLACK-HEADED GULL next count day was around the mouth of Montauk Harbor on Thursday.

The Northern Nassau Count Saturday featured an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN flying east over Lloyd Harbor plus CACKLING GOOSE, EASTERN PHOEBE and NELSON'S SPARROW.

Sunday's very poor weather produced lower results. Captree recorded 115 species including a lingering BARNACLE GOOSE at St. Charles Cemetery, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, a BLACK RAIL around Captree, a lingering AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER at Heckscher State Park, a PARASITIC JAEGER off Robert Moses State Park, 19 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, RAZORBILL and 6 DOVEKIES, 2 COMMON RAVENS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and 43 RED and 7 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS. The BARNACLE GOOSE and a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE presumably are spending the night at Belmont Lake State Park and spending the day at St. Charles Cemetery nearby. The cemetery is east of Farmingdale between New Highway on the west and Wellwood Avenue on the east.

The Queens Count netted 109 species highlighted by the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN at Powell's Cove, a DOVEKIE off Atlantic Beach, 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS, INDIGO BUNTING, 6 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and COMMON REDPOLL.

An interesting count period bird was a LE CONTE'S SPARROW found Saturday at Edgemere Landfill but not relocated for the count.

In Central Park Sunday as part of the Lower Hudson Count they recorded BARRED OWL, 4 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and 2 COMMON REDPOLLS with NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL on count period.

A drake TUFTED DUCK found Monday in Huntington Harbor was still present this morning but does move around the area quite a bit. Look especially around Knutson Marine or from the nearby Town Park in hail site.

The Van Cortlandt Park BARNACLE GOOSE continues on the Parade Grounds there where the CACKLING GOOSE also noted there periodically.

Two drake EURASIAN WIGEON and the hybrid Wigeon have been on the Massapequa Preserve pond that is east of the eastern end of Pittsburgh Avenue.

The poor weather today produced a nice DOVEKIE flight in Brooklyn with 21 seen in Gravesend Bay and 2 more off Coney Island. Other birds included a RAZORBILL in Sheepshead Bay and an ICELAND GULL at Coney Island Beach.

Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS were still recently around the Point Lookout jetties.

In Setauket the immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was still present in Little Bay Thursday and a EURASIAN WIGEON was on the Sayville Golf Course today.

A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was back as of Wednesday at Cedar Point County Park in East Hampton. Today an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was roosting with other gulls along Further Lane in East Hampton and birds at Montauk Point included 4 DOVEKIES, 68 RAZORBILLS and 8 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES.

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 and have a wonderful holiday.

- End transcript