New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 4, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan 04, 2013
* NYNY1301.04

- Birds Mentioned:
BARNACLE GOOSE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Snow Goose
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
"Eurasian" GREEN-WINGED TEAL
TUFTED DUCK
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
Red Knot
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black Skimmer
Razorbill
Barn Owl
SNOWY OWL
Tree Swallow
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Chipping Sparrow
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
"Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Boat-tailed Grackle
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll
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:

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

~ Transcript ~

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Weekly Recording: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays)
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 4th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, TUFTED DUCK, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, SNOWY OWL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, and Winter Finches.

The Southern Nassau Christmas Count on Saturday recorded 129 species. Highlights included the two drake EURASIAN WIGEONS on the ponds at Massapequa Preserve, a Eurasian GREEN-WINGED TEAL at Smith Pond in Hempstead, 18 COMMON EIDER and count period HARLEQUIN DUCK, 1 SNOWY EGRET, 14 GREAT EGRETS, and a YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 4 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and BALD EAGLE, 9 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, RED KNOT, count period LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and ICELAND GULL, 2 RAZORBILLS and 2 BARN OWLS, 19 TREE SWALLOWS, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, 27 RED CROSSBILLS, 20 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 13 COMMON REDPOLLS, and 1 PINE SISKIN, 199 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES, 9 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROWS, and 1 CHIPPING SPARROW.

The Putnam Count last weekend netted 78 species, including 5 SNOW GEESE, 9 BALD EAGLES and 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS, 6 AMERICAN PIPITS, COMMON REDPOLL, and 5 PINE SISKINS.

The drake TUFTED DUCK was still being seen around the south end of Huntington Harbor through Thursday. Look for the duck especially around the marinas at the southeastern portion of the harbor around Halesite, the Town Park there offering a good vantage point. The duck does like to feed among the docked boats, so look carefully.

The Bronx BARNACLE GOOSE continues to visit the Parade Ground with Canada Geese at Van Cortlandt Park. If not there, try the lake by the golf course. Tuesday the Parade Ground also produced a LAPLAND LONGSPUR with 21 Horned Larks.

Staying with waterfowl, out in Montauk two drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE were found Wednesday at the south end of Lake Montauk as viewed from South Lake Drive on the north side of Route 27. Also seen there was the elusive immature BLACK-HEADED GULL feeding with Bonaparte's. Two ICELAND GULLS remain around the Montauk Harbor Inlet, RAZORBILLS continue off Montauk Point, and some RED and WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS continue at a few different Montauk locations. A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was still at the Deep Hollow Ranch and Teddy Roosevelt County Park area last weekend, and a CACKLING GOOSE also remains there.

At Napeague, the SNOWY OWL continues at times to be visible as it perches on Hicks Island across from the end of Lazy Point Road, and the adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was also still there.

Six GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were around Further Lane and Hook Pond in East Hampton last weekend, with CACKLING GOOSE also on Hook.

Birds at the EECO Farm in East Hampton recently have featured two CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS and one LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Hulse Landing Road in Wading River also has hosted CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, VESPER SPARROW, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, plus COMMON REDPOLL.

The BARNACLE GOOSE, plus a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE often in the same vicinity, continue to be seen at Belmont Lake State Park or around the grassy habitats around St. Charles Cemetery off Wellwood Avenue, east of Farmingdale. The BARNACLE has been using nearby Colonial Springs Golf Course, but birders are generally not welcome at this private club.

Birds at Heckscher State Park recently have featured a flock of WHITE-WINGED and RED CROSSBILLS often east of Field 8, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR with a few Horned Larks on the field at Field 6, and a few COMMON REDPOLLS, the latter showing up at many areas now, though in low numbers.

Out at Jones Beach, some crossbills, mostly RED CROSSBILLS, remain at West End. The Christmas Count NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen again last Sunday, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK has been hanging around Tobay. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was at West End on Sunday, and AMERICAN PIPITS have been rather common out there recently.

In the City, a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was still at Alley Pond Park Sunday, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT has been at Prospect Park recently, LESSER BLACK-BACKED and ICELAND GULLS were noted at Randall's Island Sunday, and a BALD EAGLE was at the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge yesterday. A few BLACK SKIMMERS have also been hanging around the Brooklyn waterfront.

A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continues at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, but the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER has not been seen since Monday.

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 ~