New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 25, 2016

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 25, 2016
* NYNY1603.25

- Birds mentioned
COMMON MURRE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Wood Duck
EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form "Common Teal")
Canvasback
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Northern Gannet
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
Bald Eagle
American Oystercatcher
Piping Plover
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Laughing Gull
Iceland Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Swamp Sparrow
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (Gambel's form)
Rusty Blackbird

- 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 25th 2016 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are COMMON MURRE, EARED GREBE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, EURASIAN WIGEON, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, LARK SPARROW and Gambel's form of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.

With the March doldrums still providing more Winter exodus than Spring inflow nonetheless some new arrivals and lingering rarities have kept things interesting.

This week's COMMON MURRE was unfortunately found dead Saturday near the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End where an EARED GREBE was reported again Saturday morning. A search of that whole area Sunday morning could not relocate the EARED GREBE but several Horned Grebes there were in all stages of plumage from full Winter to darker headed to transition to full breeding plumage. Eight PIPING PLOVERS were on the Coast Guard Station bar on Sunday and 2 dozen or more AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were around the inlet. Also at West End the LARK SPARROW was still around the outer turnaround on Wednesday.

As was also noticed last weekend at Dead Horse Bay and Raritan Bay on Sunday several hundred NORTHERN GANNETS gathered together in a frantic feeding frenzy off Jones Inlet taking advantage of a good fishing opportunity. This phenomenon occurs fairly regularly especially around inlets and other prime fish schooling areas along the coast as the Gannets are moving back north and it can be quite exciting and something to watch for. The gatherings often disburse as quickly as they form so timing is key.

Among the waterfowl a drake EURASIAN WIGEON continues at least to Monday at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn with one on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga last Saturday. The Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still on Mill Pond in Setauket Saturday and a hybrid Eurasian and American GREEN-WINGED TEAL was with other Green-wings on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Saturday. Other birds of note at the bay Saturday included two CANVASBACKS, a BALD EAGLE and a LAUGHING GULL.

An immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted yesterday in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Lingering white winged gulls included a GLAUCOUS at Heckscher State Park on Monday and an ICELAND at Brooklyn's Drier-Offerman Park Wednesday to today. A RED-NECKED GREBE was off Staten Island Saturday, a BALD EAGLE flew over Prospect Park Wednesday and 3 PIPING PLOVERS were at Breezy Point Saturday.

Interesting were two ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS reported last weekend with one again on Wednesday on Staten Island where a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still at Willowbrook Park on Tuesday. Another RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues around the north entrance to Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown this off New Mill Road and Blydenburgh also produced a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW Tuesday as another of the earlier migrants makes an appearance.

A nice find last Sunday was an adult Gambel's form of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW with other White-crowneds at the former Grumman airport grasslands in Calverton. Twenty-two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were counted at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx last Sunday this a good area to find this species in the swampy areas near the lake. The LARK SPARROW at Croton Point Park in Westchester was still being seen as of Sunday.

A small but widespread influx of PINE WARBLERS has been noted this week and other earlier arrivers all expected at this time have included GREAT and SNOWY EGRETS, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, OSPREY, WINTER WREN, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and even an occasional RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and a few species of sparrows including FIELD, CHIPPING and SWAMP these already following present species like WOOD DUCK, NORTHERN FLICKER, EASTERN PHOEBE and TREE SWALLOW.

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