New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 19, 2014:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 19, 2014
* NYNY1412.19

- Birds mentioned
BARNACLE GOOSE+
THAYER'S GULL+
CASSIN'S KINGBIRD+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
TUNDRA SWAN
Wood Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Common Eider
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Red Knot
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Black-legged Kittiwake
SNOWY OWL
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Common Raven
House Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Pine Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Vesper Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

- 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 19th 2014 at 8am. The highlights of today's tape are CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, BLACK-HEADED GULL, THAYER'S GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, SNOWY OWL and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

Although there have been no reports of the Jones Beach West End COMMON GROUND-DOVE since Monday the 8th the CASSIN'S KINGBIRD does continue to frequent the area around the community gardens at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. Thursday morning it was spotted again in the picnic area adjacent to the gardens but continuing its elusive behavior but not seen there in the afternoon. Nonetheless staking out the picnic area still seems to be the best strategy.

The Christmas Count period began last Sunday and the Queens Count recorded 124 species there highlights included BALD EAGLE, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, NORTHERN SAW-WHET and 2 SNOWY OWLS, 3 EASTERN PHOEBES, 3 swallow, a lingering WILSON'S WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED and 3 PINE WARBLERS and VESPER SPARROW.

The Captree Count Sunday tallied 123 species including the BARNACLE GOOSE at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, 2 EURASIAN WIGEON, a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE off Democrat Point on Fire Island, GREAT EGRET, 2 BALD EAGLES, 5 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET and 2 SNOWY OWLS, a BLUE-HEADED VIREO at Bayard Cutting Arboretum, 2 COMMON RAVENS, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, NELSON'S SPARROW, 9 PINE SISKINS and 6 PURPLE FINCHES. The BARNACLE GOOSE was joined on Tuesday by 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at St. Charles Cemetery.

The Greenwich-Stamford Count Sunday recorded 111 species including a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in Ryebrook, 2 GREAT EGRETS, BLACK VULTURE, 6 BALD EAGLES, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, SHORT-EARED and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, HOUSE WREN and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

The immature BLACK-HEADED GULL in Westchester County has not been reported recently but an immature was seen in Jones Inlet last Monday.

Interesting was a likely first winter THAYER'S GULL photographed last Sunday at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan the bird perched on pilings on the pier at the end of Dyckman Street. It has not been seen since but additional photographs, especially of the spread wing, would be desirable to pin down this difficult identification.

Completing the gulls, a GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted Tuesday at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn where a EURASIAN WIGEON continues. Other single EURASIAN WIGEON remain at Grant Park in Hewlett, on the Mill Pond in Setauket and at Hommocks Park in Larchmont. Single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE last Saturday featured one at Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk, one on the sod fields off Route 105 south of Sound Avenue in Riverhead and one at West Dix Hills High School. The 2 TUNDRA SWANS continue on Hook Pond in East Hampton where 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were also present last Saturday.

In Brooklyn a SNOWY OWL was at Floyd Bennett Field on Wednesday, a RED-NECKED GREBE or two have been seen recently along the waterfront at various locations, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at Marine Park Tuesday, a NELSON'S SPARROW at Plumb Beach Wednesday and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW has been lingering recently in Prospect Park near the Maryland Monument.

Among the other ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS noted recently have been birds at Morningside Park in Manhattan Sunday and Robert Moses State Park and Southards Pond in Babylon Tuesday and another NELSON'S SPARROW was a Randall's Island Sunday.

At Jones Beach West End the absence of the COMMON GROUND-DOVE last weekend was somewhat compensated for by an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK cruising the West End as was an immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK Saturday. While other birds included WOOD DUCK and LAPLAND LONGSPUR in the swale and VESPER SPARROW around the West End 2 parking lot. Saturday about 20 RED KNOTS with Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin on the pilings at the Point Lookout waterworks on high tide and good numbers of COMMON EIDER continue around Jones Inlet.

Interestingly late were a BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at Swindler's Cove Park in northern Manhattan and a male HOODED WARBLER in Mastic Beach last Sunday.

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