New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 18, 2016

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 18, 2016
* NYNY1603.18

- Birds Mentioned

COMMON MURRE+
Thick-billed Murre+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
EURASIAN form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Horned Grebe
EARED GREBE
Northern Gannet
Great Egret
Osprey
American Oystercatcher
American Woodcock
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
AUDUBON’S YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
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 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are COMMON MURRE, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, EURASIAN WIGEON and EURASIAN form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, EARED GREBE, GLAUCOUS GULL, AUDUBON’S form of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and LARK SPARROW.

Last Saturday birders on a cod boat about 20 miles south of Fire Island were treated to 4 COMMON MURRES in varying plumages, mostly moving east, but no other pelagics other than NORTHERN GANNETS were noted. While on Murres, we note that the ailing THICK-BILLED MURRE present Thursday the 10th at Great Kills Park on Staten Island was picked up that day for rehabilitation but passed away shortly thereafter.

Among some lingering waterfowl were single drake EURASIAN WIGEONS still in Brooklyn at the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park to Tuesday and at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 to Sunday, while one on the move visited Playland Park in Rye, Westchester Co. last Sunday.

The EURASIAN form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen as recently as Tuesday at the Setauket Mill Pond.

Another report of the drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE off Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx came from last Sunday, though the bird was apparently very difficult to verify due to distance and bad heat haze.

A recent report of an EARED GREBE off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End cited some plumage differences compared to nearby HORNED GREBES but did not mention structural differences, which become more important as these smaller Grebes change into breeding plumage.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was noted Saturday at Short Beach Park along the Nissequogue River, and what is probably the same lingering GLAUCOUS GULL was at Army Terminal Pier 4 Sunday and Tuesday and at Bush Terminal Piers Park on Wednesday.

Adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were spotted at Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn Sunday and at Orient Beach State Park on Monday.

Two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS continued at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island at least to Sunday, when the LARK SPARROW was also noted around the outer turnaround at Jones Beach West End.

A SHORT-EARED OWL was still at the old Grumman Airport fields in Calverton as of Tuesday.

AMERICAN WOODCOCKS are now quite widespread and displaying regularly at dusk and dawn, and the 2 in Bryant Park last weekend have presumably moved on.

Noted recently have been the first arriving GREAT EGRETS and OSPREYS as well as AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS and some more EASTERN PHOEBES, while reports of species in new locations such as PINE and PALM WARBLERS and CHIPPING and FIELD SPARROWS probably represent birds that wintered regionally or not too far south from here.

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