New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 11, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 11, 2013
* NYNY1301.11

- Birds mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
WESTERN GREBE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form "Common Teal")
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
American Bittern
Great Egret
Rough-legged Hawk
Laughing Gull
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
Yellow-breasted Chat
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Rusty Blackbird
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 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

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 11th 2013 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are WESTERN GREBE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED GULL, SNOWY OWL, GLAUCOUS GULL, EURASIAN WIGEON, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL plus more.

On Wednesday a WESTERN GREBE was spotted on the ocean off the town of Montauk. The grebe was initially off the western edge of town off Kirk Park which has a parking lot just west of the IGA store. The bird drifted east during the day and has not been relocated since. If at Kirk Park check the pines for both crossbills and COMMON REDPOLL which have visited there recently.

Other highlights in the Montauk area include a pair of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES which have been staying in a Common Goldeneye flock around the south end of Lake Montauk and an immature BLACK-HEADED GULL often feeding with Bonaparte's Gulls in the same area. This area can be viewed from South Lake Drive off Route 27. An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted off the Montauk Point Park restaurant last Saturday and 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS were seen Wednesday from the restaurant and also off the Camp Hero Overlook. A few RAZORBILLS continue around the point and 2 ICELAND GULLS continue along the beach just west of the Montauk Harbor entrance with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL also around Fort Pond or Fort Pond Bay. A CACKLING GOOSE continues at Deep Hollow Ranch.

At Napeague the SNOWY OWL, missing last weekend, reappeared Monday on Hick's Island as viewed from the end of Lazy Point Road. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL also remains there and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was found Saturday near the end of Napeague Harbor Road. Six GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE have been on or near Hook Pond in East Hampton recently and a GLAUCOUS GULL was present on the pond Monday and Thursday. A couple of CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS are among the birds residing at the EECO farm in East Hampton recently. Several AMERICAN BITTERN and a couple of GREAT EGRETS remain along Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet.

Closer to the city 2 BARNACLE GEESE continue, the first at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx has been seen on the Parade Ground or surrounding golf course fairways as well as on the lake. The Canada flocks there also contain at least 1 CACKLING GOOSE and 15 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were around the swamp Sunday evening. The other BARNACLE GOOSE usually roosts overnight at Belmont Lake State Park and during the day can sometimes be found at St. Charles Cemetery just west of Wellwood Avenue this area west of Belmont Lake State Park. Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 2 CACKLING GEESE were also on the lake Thursday morning and can sometimes be seen in the wandering Canada flocks.

A Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL continues to be seen on Smith Pond south of Hempstead Lake State Park in Rockville Centre.

Both Central and Prospect Parks have been producing one or more WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and COMMON REDPOLLS this week and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT has been around Lookout Hill in Prospect to today with a second Chat hanging around the south garden at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. An ICELAND GULL was on Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn on Saturday.

Out in the Jones Beach area 2 dozen COMMON REDPOLLS were around the West End 2 parking lot on Saturday with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL there Sunday and a nicely marked adult ICELAND GULL has also been seen sitting in the lot occasionally. Also at Jones were a LAPLAND LONGSPUR to Wednesday when a couple of RAZORBILLS were spotted in the inlet. COMMON EIDERS remain at Point Lookout and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK has been along the Meadowbrook Parkway.

At least one EURASIAN WIGEON plus the Wigeon hybrid continue at Massapequa Preserve usually now above the Pittsburgh Avenue pond. At Heckscher State Park the crossbills now seem to be mostly WHITE-WINGEDS with about 20 and a COMMON REDPOLL there on Tuesday with a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW there the day before. Two ICELAND GULLS were at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown Thursday and another was at Iron Pier Beach in Northville on Wednesday. A drake HARLEQUIN DUCK appeared on Long Island Sound off Setauket last Sunday and a lingering drake EURASIAN WIGEON was in Setauket Harbor. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was around the now badly abused Calverton Airport grasslands on Tuesday and odd was an immature LAUGHING GULL on Eastport Pond last Sunday.

For the next three weeks the tape will be handled by Tony Lauro so please call Tony with your reports at (631) 734-4126.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript