New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 10, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 10, 2014
* NYNY1401.10

- Birds mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
GYRFALCON+
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

TUNDRA SWAN
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
Black Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Willet (subspecies "Western Willet")
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
SEDGE WREN
Orange-crowned Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (western subspecies "Gambel's" form)
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Boat-tailed Grackle

- 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)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

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 10th 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are GYRFALCON, BLACK-HEADED GULL, SEDGE WREN, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, NORTHERN SHRIKE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARNACLE GOOSE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, GLAUCOUS GULL, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, SNOWY OWL and a pelagic trip announcement.

Last Saturday the gray GYRFALCON seen west of Gilgo being harassed by a Peregrine and later harassing a SNOWY OWL feeding in the marsh but most of its time was spent sitting on Osprey platforms along the channel. This area is north of Ocean Parkway and viewable from the large Gilgo parking lot. The best views were had from the side of Ocean Parkway. Thus the GYRFALCON has been hunting the marsh at least from Cedar Beach Marina west to Gilgo and may even range further than that though the plentiful supply of ducks in that area should keep it around. Also noted at Cedar Beach were AMERICAN BITTERN and BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted at Coney Island Creek last Saturday with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL there Sunday.

At Jones Beach West End NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen again last Sunday but remains elusive covering a lot of territory. It is most frequently seen between the swale at West End 2 east to the Roosevelt Nature Center but obviously ranges much farther than that. Also at Jones Beach West End over last weekend were LAPLAND LONGSPUR among 300 plus SNOW BUNTINGS and some HORNED LARKS, a TREE SWALLOW or two and at least 3 SNOWY OWLS all unfortunately being constantly disturbed and forced to relocate.

An interesting assortment of shorebirds at Point Lookout last weekend included the unusually late PIPING PLOVER, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, a few RED KNOTS and a "Western" WILLET plus more expected species such as BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, PURPLE SANDPIPER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, DUNLIN and SANDERLING. Seven HARLEQUIN DUCKS were along the inlet jetty Sunday.

An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and CHIPPING SPARROW were around the Fireman's Park fields at the eastern end of Lido Boulevard. A sub-adult male KING EIDER was still off Fort Tilden with scoters on Sunday a [...] BARNACLE GOOSE was spotted late Tuesday afternoon with Canadas on the lake at Belmont Lake State Park was also there each morning since. The geese move off this lake each day starting shortly after 8am.

A EURASIAN WIGEON was near the Tottenville train station on Staten Island Saturday. An ICELAND GULL was at Jones Beach field 6 Monday and birds at Caumsett State Park Thursday featured RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, EASTERN PHOEBE and a lingering RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. Other RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS include one in Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn to Thursday and 2 continuing near Turtle Cove at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.

Out east a female YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen in a large mixed blackbird flock at the Buffalo Farm at the south side of Reeves Avenue west of Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead Tuesday.

Dune Road and Shinnecock Inlet have been very productive lately. Five KING EIDERS, 3 females and 2 immature males, remain around the inlet where single GLAUCOUS and ICELAND GULLS have been lingering and along Dune Road west of the inlet last Sunday were a SEDGE WREN east of Dolphin Lane and a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW off Triton Lane plus a NELSON'S, SALTMARSH and SEASIDE SPARROW, a SNOWY OWL, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR near the Ponquogue Bridge, CLAPPER RAIL, AMERICAN BITTERN, RED-NECKED GREBE and more. Two TUNDRA SWANS were still on Hook Pond in East Hampton last Saturday and 110 RAZORBILLS were estimated off Montauk Point Sunday.

On the north fork a pair of KING EIDER and a drake HARLEQUIN DUCK were off Orient Point last Sunday when a Gambel's type WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was spotted on Narrow River Road and a BLACK VULTURE has been with Turkey Vultures around Sound Avenue in Northville. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was on Hulse Landing Road in Calverton Tuesday.

See Life Paulagics is sponsoring a pelagic trip with the Captain Lou Fleet out of Freeport on Saturday, February 1st leaving at 6am. This should be a good one and spaces are available. Call (215) 234-6805 for information or visit their website at < http://www.paulagics.com/ >.

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 transcript