New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 27, 2013:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec 27, 2013
* NYNY1312.27

- Birds Mentioned:

PACIFIC LOON+
GYRFALCON+
VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
TUNDRA SWAN
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
Harlequin Duck
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
Lesser Yellowlegs
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
BLACK GUILLEMOT
Snowy Owl
Barred Owl
Long-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Orange-crowned Warbler
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Baltimore Oriole

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)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

~ 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 (Long Island)

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, December 27th, at 7:00pm. The highlights of today's tape are VARIED THRUSH, GYRFALCON, PACIFIC LOON, BLACK GUILLEMOT, TUNDRA SWAN, ROSS'S GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, GLAUCOUS GULL, NORTHERN SHRIKE, and more.

A number of good birds, some lingering and some found recently on local Christmas counts.

The stunning male VARIED THRUSH was still being seen in Stuyvesant Town in lower Manhattan at least to last Saturday, but we have received no reports since then. The thrush had been visiting shrubbery around the Stuyvesant Oval, east of First Avenue, roughly adjacent to East 19th Street.

A gray GYRFALCON was reported again from the Cedar Beach Marina area both last Saturday and on Wednesday. Watch for the falcon perching and hunting over the marsh north of the Marina, located off the north side of Ocean Parkway about three miles west of Captree State Park. Be aware that there are also some Peregrine Falcons using the same area.

A PACIFIC LOON was also seen again just off Orient Point last Saturday and seems to be lingering in that area. A female KING EIDER and SNOWY OWL were among the other birds at Orient, including Orient Beach State Park.

The Northern Nassau Christmas Count on Saturday recorded 118 species, the highlights including GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, CACKLING GOOSE, a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE continuing off Sands Point Preserve, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, BLACK GUILLEMOT off Sea Cliff, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, BALD EAGLE, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, SEASIDE SPARROW, and VESPER SPARROW.

The BLACK GUILLEMOT was still present today in the bay west of Sea Cliff, best viewed from the beach along The Boulevard, which is an extension south of Shore Road. Look especially from where The Boulevard meets Cliff Way at its southern end.

A female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was also noted this week in the Ransom Beach area, west of Bayville.

The Bronx-Westchester Count on Sunday totaled 120 species, highlights including two EURASIAN WIGEONS (single drakes at Turtle Cove in Pelham Bay Park and at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye), a female KING EIDER off Milton Point in Rye, three RED-NECKED GREBES, four BLACK VULTURES, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, a count period SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, RAZORBILL, BARRED OWL, LONG-EARED OWL, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, seven RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS with six of these at Pelham Bay Park, and five COMMON RAVENS. The female KING EIDER may have been the same one seen across Long Island Sound off Bayville yesterday.

The Jones Beach West End NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen as recently as yesterday, east of the Roosevelt Nature Center. Seven HARLEQUIN DUCKS were also at the West End jetty yesterday, these often also moving across Jones Inlet to the Point Lookout jetties, where RED-NECKED GREBE was seen last Saturday. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR continues to be seen with Horned Larks and Snow Buntings at Jones West End, and of course SNOWY OWLS remain in evidence there and at many other sites, the amazing irruption continuing.

The nice recent run of GLAUCOUS GULLS continues. One or two have been at Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn, with others at Bay Park in Baldwin Wednesday, Wolfe's Pond Park on Staten Island Saturday, and farther east, two continuing at Shinnecock Inlet and another at Hook Pond in East Hampton on Sunday.

Other highlights out east have featured two TUNDRA SWANS continuing on Hook Pond, and a ROSS'S GOOSE found on the Montauk Christmas Count and still at Deep Hollow Ranch on Saturday.

Some ICELAND GULLS have appeared recently, including one at Prospect Park Lake Thursday.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS include one at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn Thursday and one at Caumsett State Park last Saturday.

Lingering land birds have included CLAY-COLORED SPARROW on Staten Island Saturday, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Zach's Bay Thursday, and a BALTIMORE ORIOLE still in Central Park Wednesday, joined by a second one in the Ramble 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. Happy New Year!

[~END TAPE~]

~ End Transcript ~