New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 11, 2016:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar 11, 2016
* NYNY1603.11

- Birds Mentioned

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

Cackling Goose
Wood Duck
EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Common Goldeneye
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Red Knot
Dunlin
American Woodcock
Razorbill
ICELAND GULL
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
LARK SPARROW


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 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, March 11, 2016 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are EARED GREBE, THICK-BILLED MURRE, BARROW’S GOLDNEYE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, GLAUCOUS and ICELAND GULLS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and LARK SPARROW.

An EARED GREBE was spotted Sunday morning on fairly calm waters around the mouth of Jones Inlet, but by later afternoon in rougher waters it retreated to the eastern side of the inlet off Jones Beach West End before eventually flying back to the ocean off Point Lookout. We have no subsequent reports of this bird. Also in that area, the 6 HARLEQUIN DUCKS off the Point Lookout jetties Sunday afternoon presumably included the 3 noted earlier at the West End jetty. A RAZORBILL was also in Jones Inlet Sunday. The West End LARK SPARROW was seen as recently as Tuesday, usually around the outer turnaround that leads into Lot 2, where an adult ICELAND GULL has occasionally been roosting, seen at least to Tuesday. At the high tide roost on the wharf at the Point Lookout boat basin by the Water Works Saturday were around 1,000 DUNLIN, some BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and 15 RED KNOTS.

On Staten Island a THICK-BILLED MURRE, not looking terribly well, appeared Thursday near the boat basin at Great Kills Park. This followed a RAZORBILL spotted Sunday off Fort Wadsworth, and, also on Staten Island, 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were noted at Willowbrook Park on Monday.

In the Bronx, a drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE appeared with COMMON GOLDENEYE Monday at Pelham Bay Park and was still near Twin Island the next day.

One or two lingering EURASIAN WIGEON were still being seen on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge early in the week, and another was noted again at the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park in Brooklyn Monday and Tuesday. A few CACKLING GEESE also continue in the area.

An immature GLAUCOUS GULL visited Central Park Reservoir Sunday, the same day finding another again at Sunken Meadow State Park.

Out in the Montauk area good numbers of RAZORBILLS were present off Montauk Point last weekend, and 3 RED-NECKED GREBES were in Fort Pond Bay, with a couple more off Culloden Point.

One or two SHORT-EARED OWLS are still feeding in the evening at the former Grumman airport in Calverton, and AMERICAN WOODCOCK have been displaying at dusk at numerous suitable locations recently, with one hiding in Bryant Park in Manhattan today.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still at Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island Tuesday, and another remains around the north parking lot at Blydenburgh County Park off New Mill Road in Smithtown.

The Croton Point LARK SPARROW was still present Wednesday.

This deceptive warm spell has conjured up thoughts of masses of early spring migrants, but more realistically we should perhaps anticipate the March doldrums before any earnest movement takes place. Some of the expected very early migrants have begun to appear, including WOOD DUCKS, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, several EASTERN PHOEBES as of Wednesday and TREE SWALLOW.

To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or days except Sunday 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