New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 8, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 8, 2016
* NYNY1601.08

- Birds mentioned

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
WESTERN GREBE+
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
PAINTED BUNTING+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
TUNDRA SWAN
EURASIAN WIGEON
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
TUFTED DUCK
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Long-billed Dowitcher
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Barn Owl
SNOWY OWL
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Marsh Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
Savannah Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
DICKCISSEL
Baltimore Oriole
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, January 8th 2016 at 5pm. The highlights of today's tape are WESTERN GREBE, PAINTED BUNTING, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, ROSS'S GOOSE, TUNDRA SWAN, TUFTED DUCK, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-HEADED GULL, SNOWY OWL, DICKCISSEL, LARK SPARROW and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

On the final Christmas Count weekend the Southern Nassau Count last Saturday recorded 130 species highlights including 2 Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 2 BLUE-WINGED TEALS, 6 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 3 YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 2 OSPREY, a TURKEY VULTURE, 2 BALD EAGLES, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, 2 BARN, 1 SHORT-EARED and 1 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, EASTERN PHOEBE and 43 TREE SWALLOWS, MARSH WREN, 2 COMMON RAVENS, 4 ORANGE-CROWNED and 3 PINE WARBLERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at Cow Meadow Preserve, LARK SPARROW at the Fireman's Park at Point Lookout, 4 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROWS, BALTIMORE ORIOLE and PINE SISKIN.

The Putnam Count Saturday netted 79 species including 19 BALD EAGLES, 13 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS and 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS.

The Orient Count Saturday, details unknown, did have at least 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS and a count period SNOWY OWL at Orient Beach State Park starting Monday.

For rarity updates the exquisite male PAINTED BUNTING at Prospect Park has not been seen since Sunday the 3rd and the Montauk ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER was last reported January 1st though one did appear in a Brooklyn backyard for a couple of hours last Saturday perhaps the Montauk bird wisely heading south. And speaking of that the two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS reappearing Wednesday on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge were likely the two seen Thursday soaring over Fort Tilden and then heading west. The BLACK-HEADED GULL was still on Prospect Park Lake Thursday.

A nice find yesterday was a WESTERN GREBE spotted off the north side of Piermont Pier in Piermont, Rockland County. This elegant bird present off the south side today. Piermont is reached from Route 9W and work your way to the pier.

A PINK-FOOTED GOOSE has been in Smithtown at least since Wednesday visiting Miller's Pond and the surrounding area including the ballfields at Robert A. Brady Park on the west side of Maple Avenue. The goose roosts on Miller's Pond south of Route 25A and can leave rather early. The same goes for a ROSS'S GOOSE roosting on Avon Lake in Amityville north of Merrick Road Route 27A which moves off the lake to nearby feeding areas. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE have recently included 2 at Belmont Lake State Park, 2 on Hook Pond in East Hampton, 1 off Lakeville Road in Lake Success Wednesday and one on Playland Lake in Rye this morning. Several CACKLING GEESE include the 2 still at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, 2 TUNDRA SWANS recently on Hook Pond were seen flying out on Thursday. A young male TUFTED DUCK was still on Lake Capri off Route 27A in West Islip Wednesday this pond 0.7 of a mile west of the Robert Moses Causeway, a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was spotted today on Staten Island off of Fisherman's Pier at the end of Seaview Avenue near Dongan Hills. A drake KING EIDER continues at Montauk Point usually in the scoter gathering between the lighthouse and the Camp Hero overlook. HARLEQUIN DUCKS include 4 at the Point Lookout jetties Wednesday and 2 at Montauk Point Thursday. EURASIAN WIGEON include one or two at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, 1 on Swan Lake in Patchogue to Wednesday, 1 on Mill Pond in Centerport on Sunday, 1 on Setauket Harbor Tuesday and 1 at Blydenburgh County Park to Tuesday.

A dark ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was north of the toll booths on the Wantagh Parkway Tuesday. The LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS may have been frozen out of Santapogue Creek as of Wednesday. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues at Blydenburgh County Park. A DICKCISSEL has been at the south end of Southards Pond Park in Babylon near the playground by the Park Avenue parking lot. Both the LARK and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS remain at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park moving with 3 PINE WARBLERS and a DARK-EYED JUNCO flock in the vicinity of the meditation garden just north of Route
495. Another LARK SPARROW continues at Croton Point Park in Westchester.

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