New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 12, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 12, 2014
* NYNY1412.12

- Birds mentioned
BARNACLE GOOSE+
COMMON GROUND-DOVE+
CASSIN'S KINGBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
TUNDRA SWAN
EURASIAN WIGEON
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Bald Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Red Knot
Western Sandpiper
BLACK-HEADED GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
SNOWY OWL
Blue-headed Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Indigo Bunting

- 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 nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}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, December 12th 2014 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are COMMON GROUND-DOVE, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, BLACK-HEADED GULL, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, TUNDRA SWAN, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, SNOWY OWL, GLAUCOUS GULL and ICELAND GULL.

New York's second state records were both still present last weekend but there have been no late week reports of either. The COMMON GROUND-DOVE last Sunday spent much of its time in the high winds walking on the pavement along the northern edge of parking field 2 at Jones Beach West End on either side of the lot's central exit though mostly along the edge east of the exit. It was doing the same on Monday but has been looked for unsuccessfully since. The CASSIN'S KINGBIRD at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn was still frequenting the picnic area just south of the community garden last Sunday but that is the last day reported.

The immature BLACK-HEADED GULL continues in Westchester County where it is spending most of its time at Five Island Park in New Rochelle. The Black-headed does visit the Warwick Treatment Plant on the right side as you enter into the park thus sometimes not visible until it and the accompanying Ring-billed Gulls fly around. Other times it feeds around the edges of the island with the parking lot or roosts on the island just west of the lot. The entrance to Five Island Park is on Le Fevres Lane off Route
1. Another location to check if necessary would be Premium Millpond to the east in Larchmont viewable from Prior Manor Road.

A BARNACLE GOOSE has been seen Wednesday through today with Canadas at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale located between Wellwood Avenue on the east and New Highway on the west. In the past a Barnacle with accompanying Canadas has often spent the overnight at Belmont Lake State Park to the east.

Activity in the Jones Inlet area has been interesting this past week. An immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK was noted at West End today by the Fisherman's Road and in front of the Roosevelt Nature Center. Three immature BALD EAGLES were spotted high over Point Lookout today. Two SNOWY OWLS were at West End last weekend and four HARLEQUIN DUCKS and a good sized flock of COMMON EIDER have been around the inlet. The HARLEQUINS often off the Point Lookout jetties. Recent shorebirds have included RED KNOT on the Coast Guard bar and WESTERN SANDPIPER on the West End jetty roosting with Dunlin and Sanderlings. Landbirds have included seven Longspurs with Snow Buntings and Horned Larks in the swale off the West End 2 concession building. One larger pale Longspur last Sunday needing more scrutinizing to determine whether it too was a LAPLAND. A VESPER SPARROW was at West End Friday.

Several local drake EURASIAN WIGEON include birds at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn, at Hummocks Pond in Larchmont, at Grant Park in Hewlett, on the Mill Pond in Sayville, on Mill Pond in Setauket and three on Patchogue Lake last Saturday.

Single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE have included one at Dix Hills High School West at Wolf Hill Road and Melrose Road today, one off Daniel's Lane in Bridgehampton last Sunday and another Sunday at Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk with five Snow Geese, three TUNDRA SWANS were on Hook Pond in East Hampton Sunday and a GLAUCOUS GULL was at Shinnecock Inlet last weekend. Noted at Montauk Point last Sunday were ICELAND and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS.

Recent birds in Alley Pond Park in Queens featured BLUE-HEADED VIREO Monday and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER today and an INDIGO BUNTING was in Rye yesterday so hopefully some great birds will continue to linger for the Christmas Counts. This period beginning Sunday. Please call in highlights of regional counts for inclusion ihere.

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