New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 14, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 14, 2014
* NYNY1402.14

- Birds mentioned

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
GYRFALCON+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
Rough-legged Hawk
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Snowy Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Horned Lark
American Pipit
VESPER SPARROW
Saltmarsh Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (western subspecies "Gambel's" form)
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
Snow Bunting
Baltimore Oriole

- 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, February 14th 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, GYRFALCON, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, NORTHERN SHRIKE, VESPER SPARROW, LAPLAND LONGSPUR and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Last Sunday morning the Riverhead PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was spotted asleep on Merritt's Pond with hundreds of Canada Geese. This pond, a likely consistent overnight roost for the PINK-FOOTED as well as the Canadas and a few Snow Geese, is unfortunately totally surrounded by local residences so viewing the pond is quite tricky consisting generally of views from the street through the residents yards. Even then it is unlikely much of the pond will be visible and it would be very important to not create any traffic issues or disturbance for the residents. Perhaps better to wait until the geese disburse again in the fields north of Riverhead.

Another report of the GYRFALCON comes from Gilgo last Sunday seen sitting on an Osprey platform north of Ocean Parkway. A Peregrine seen later on the same platform provided a good comparative analysis.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE wintering off Sands Point in Nassau County was spotted Sunday afternoon from the Sands Point Preserve a park with an entrance fee that provides the only public access to view that area. The GOLDENEYE was seen with two dozen Common Goldeneyes near a point a little west of the preserve and a RED-NECKED GREBE was also among the collection of birds offshore.

Five HARLEQUIN DUCKS were present Sunday off jetties at the eastern end of the Long Beach boardwalk near Neptune Avenue. These perhaps the same five relocating from Point Lookout due to the dredging disturbance there.

The drake EURASIAN WIGEON was a surprise find on Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn today and another was seen again recently at Massapequa Preserve. The two RED-NECKED GREBES on the pond recently at Connetquot River State Park were joined by a EURASIAN WIGEON Wednesday. Other RED-NECKED GREBES also continue in NYC waters.

The NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen again at Jones Beach West End last Saturday.

Out at Shinnecock a GLAUCOUS and 2 ICELAND GULLS were around the inlet last Saturday and birds along Dune Road included SNOWY OWL, a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK near Dolphin Lane and an AMERICAN BITTERN west of Dockers' restaurant. While on Sunday two SALTMARSH SPARROWS were at Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes. The icy conditions along Dune Road making it generally more difficult to find marsh sparrows there.

Decent finds at the Buffalo Farm north of Riverhead at Roanoke Avenue and Reeves Avenue which have not included the Yellow-headed Blackbird have featured an adult Gambel's type WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW plus a presumed immature among the several WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS there, VESPER SPARROW last Sunday and LAPLAND LONGSPUR Tuesday and Wednesday as well as some AMERICAN PIPITS, SNOW BUNTINGS and HORNED LARKS. Another LAPLAND was reported from Hulse Landing Road last Saturday.

ICELAND GULLS have included one on the Central Park reservoir to today, in Brooklyn Sunday at Seagate at Veteran's Memorial Pier in Bay Ridge Brooklyn and at Iron Pier in Northville and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Coney Island Creek again last weekend. RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were noted Sunday at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx and at Croton Point during the productive Eaglefest. Two BALTIMORE ORIOLES continue at the Central Park feeders in the Ramble.

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