New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 4, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 4, 2016
* NYNY1603.04

- Birds mentioned
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form "Common Teal")
TUFTED DUCK
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
EARED GREBE
Razorbill
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
LARK SPARROW

- 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, March 4th 2016 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are EARED GREBE, THICK-BILLED MURRE, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, TUFTED DUCK, HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER, EURASIAN WIGEON, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, LARK SPARROW and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

What might be considered a minor incursion of EARED GREBES on the south shore of Long Island commenced last Saturday with one nicely photographed in Fire Island Inlet off Oak Beach. Since then this grebe has been seen several times through yesterday as it works its way often with Horned Grebes along the channel sometimes close to shore between the main Oak Beach parking lot and what is referred to as the Fisherman's parking lot farther to the west along Oak Beach Road. Another EARED GREBE was spotted Monday in Montauk at the south end of Lake Montauk as viewed from South Lake Drive but note as our annual caveat at this time of year with Horned Grebes now starting to transition into breeding plumage it can look very much like a Winter EARED GREBE so these two grebes should now be differentiated more by structural differences rather than plumage differences.

Also out at Montauk the THICK-BILLED MURRE staying around the mouth and jetties at Montauk Harbor Inlet was present at least through Sunday. A HARLEQUIN DUCK was still off Montauk Point Sunday and on Monday an adult LITTLE GULL appeared there in the Bonaparte's Gull flock off the restaurant. Fourteen RAZORBILLS were also counted there.

Two TUFTED DUCKS have continued along the south shore of Long Island. One on Patchogue Lake north of Holbrook Road to Thursday and the other at the mouth of Santapogue Creek as seen Sunday from Venetian Shores Park in Lindenhurst. Both have been thought to be young males but the Santapogue bird possibly being a female has been raised.

Finishing the ducks at least four HARLEQUIN DUCKS were at the Point Lookout jetties Sunday and four were still at Orient Point Saturday along with a lingering female KING EIDER. Single drake EURASIAN WIGEON were noted at the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park in Brooklyn Sunday, on Fresh Pond in Northport at least to Tuesday and on Deep Hole Creek off New Suffolk Avenue in Mattituck Tuesday. The Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was also still on the Mill Pond in Setauket Sunday.

The Flushing Meadows GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen again last Sunday on the Pool of Industry and two CACKLING GEESE were at South Haven County Park in Shirley Wednesday. An immature GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted along with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in a gull flock at Sunken Meadow State Park yesterday. Another LESSER BLACK-BACKED visited Central Park reservoir Thursday afternoon. A quite dark tipped adult ICELAND GULL, Kumlien's as all are in our area, has been seen a few times in parking field 2 at Jones Beach West End at least to Tuesday and another adult with very little wing tip pigmentation was on the westernmost of the Point Lookout jetties on Sunday. The immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was still visiting Prospect Park Lake up to yesterday while an immature was also seen south of there in Sheepshead Bay Sunday and Tuesday this is a different bird.

A RAZORBILL was off the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station Sunday to Tuesday.

Two SHORT-EARED OWLS are still frequenting the former Grumman airport in Calverton and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island.

Single LARK SPARROWS remain at Jones Beach West End usually by the outer turnaround and at Croton Point Park in Westchester and the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen again with accompanying Dark-eyed Juncos at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park today.

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