New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 17, 2015:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 17, 2015
* NYNY1504.17

- Birds Mentioned

CRESTED CARACARA+
COMMON MURRE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
Red-necked Grebe
Sooty Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Tricolored Heron
Black Vulture
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Least Tern
Forster's Tern
Razorbill
SNOWY OWL
CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
White-eyed Vireo
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Yellow Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/...

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44nybirdsorg

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

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Gail Benson
[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, April 17 at 8:00 pm.

The highlights of today's tape are CRESTED CARACARA, pelagic trip results including COMMON MURRE, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, SNOWY OWL, EURASIAN WIGEON and spring migrants, including YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER.

A CRESTED CARACARA, the northern Crested species, has been present in the Montgomery area of Orange County since first being spotted there last Friday, the 10th. Though moving about a bit, the bird has recently been staying around Scott’s Corners Golf Course, especially along the entrance road to the golf course, where it has been consuming a former possum. The unfortunate bit of news, though, is that the CARACARA was looked for extensively today but could not be found. The CARACARA is missing its left eye, which might cause it to stay around longer. The golf course entrance road is off of the west side of Route 208 about a quarter mile or so north of Route 17K, east of Montgomery. Please do not park along this narrow road, but park at the golf course itself if you are looking for the bird there.

A pelagic trip last Saturday sponsored by See Life Paulagics aboard the Brooklyn VI out of Sheepshead Bay encountered very cool waters for this time of year, presumably limiting the number and variety of birds seen. Highlights included three COMMON MURRES, one sitting bird in nice full breeding plumage, a small number of RAZORBILLS, 11 RED-NECKED GREBES, and a single SOOTY SHEARWATER. Over 100 NORTHERN GANNETS were tallied, and a decent following of gulls included an immature GLAUCOUS, 3 ICELANDS and 9 or so LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS in varying plumages.

Another interesting lingering bird has been a CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW roosting during the day in bare trees in Bryant Park in central Manhattan, first seen there last Monday and still present today. It’s easy to conjecture that the Chuck’s stay in what seems rather unlikely habitat for this species might be due to an unpleasant encounter with one of the surrounding buildings while migrating. This park is off 6th Avenue on the south side of 42nd Street, and the Chuck has been in trees in the northeast corner of the park. An AMERICAN WOODCOCK, perhaps also a building strike victim, was very visible just off the southeast corner of the lawn Monday; a number of injured WOODCOCKS have been treated in the city recently, some with better results than others.

Among the winter species this week, a SNOWY OWL was still near Shinnecock Inlet Wednesday, a drake EURASIAN WIGEON was on Playland Lake in Rye, Westchester County, on Thursday, and single GLAUCOUS GULLS were seen on Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn, Saturday and on Wednesday at Jones Beach Field 6 and at Orient Point County Park.

Besides at Connetquot River State Park, two other YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS featured one still around the south end of Valley Stream State Park Saturday and one at Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island starting on Saturday. EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILLS were singing in Amagansett on eastern Long Island last Tuesday and should be returning to most breeding areas shortly. Four BLACK VULTURES were noted together over the east side of Manhattan last Saturday.

Other seasonal migrants continue to drift into our area, some new reports include TRICOLORED HERON Thursday in Oceanside, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER at Cedar Beach, LEAST TERN along with more FORSTER’S TERNS, additional CHIMNEY SWIFTS, a WHITE-EYED VIREO last Saturday in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, HOUSE WREN from Monday and MARSH WREN on Tuesday, and a few more BANK and CLIFF SWALLOWS; new Warblers have featured YELLOW WARBLER in Westchester Monday, and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT in Central Park from Wednesday and Tuesday, respectively.

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