New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 1, 2016:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 1, 2016
* NYNY1604.01

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

EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form "Common Teal")
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Little Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
LARK SPARROW
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Purple Finch

- 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, April 1st 2016 at 6pm. The highlights of today's tape are NORTHERN GIANT PETREL, THICK-BILLED MURRE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, GLAUCOUS GULL, LARK SPARROW, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Spring migration continues to proceed slowly with a couple of nice rarities still appearing the first a follow-up on the previously reported NORTHERN GIANT PETREL. The Captain Lou Fleet has called to say they are postponing the special birders pelagic they had setup for tomorrow to see the Giant Petrel that had been around their charter boats just off Jones Inlet for the past two days because it was not seen there this morning. If the Giant Petrel does reappear they will reinstate the trip but they did say that photos of the Giant Petrel will be up on their website soon showing the nice rosy tips of the bill confirming its identity as a Northern.

Also, the National Weather Service has confirmed their proclamation that Spring has been canceled this year in the northeast saying just check the weather for the next couple of days if you don't believe them.

Wednesday was a good day locally for THICK-BILLED MURRE continuing its recent sporadic coastal appearances. One was seen and photographed in the South Channel at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge near Little Egg Marsh and another flew out of Shinnecock Inlet eventually disappearing out in the ocean. Other highlights at Shinnecock Wednesday included a female KING EIDER spotted in the Common Eider and mixed scoter flock near the inlet and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in the gull flock there. Another LESSER BLACK-BACKED appeared at Floyd Bennett Field Monday and the immature GLAUCOUS GULL was seen again yesterday at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn.

Among the lingering waterfowl the EURASIAN WIGEON was still on Leed's Pond south of Rock Hollow Road in Plandome on Wednesday and the Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still on Mill Pond in Setauket recently. Six HARLEQUIN DUCKS were around the jetty at Jones Beach West End on Tuesday. The LARK SPARROW at Jones Beach West End was reported as recently as Tuesday and the one at Croton Point Park in Westchester County was still present Wednesday.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has continued at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island at least to Sunday. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was photographed in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Wednesday one that likely lingered in the region and among the early Spring warbler migrants some PALMS are now appearing along with the more widespread PINES and YELLOW-RUMPEDS have begun moving around a bit. There have already been reports of LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH north of our area.

Interesting were about 50 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS reported Thursday streaming northeast over Collect Pond Park in southern Manhattan. A few BALD EAGLES have also been drifting through the region recently and a SHORT-EARED OWL was still at the grasslands at the former Grumman airport in Calverton Wednesday evening.

Other Spring migrants generally anticipated about this time of year have featured a LITTLE BLUE HERON in Brooklyn today, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, a BARN SWALLOW as of Tuesday, BROWN CREEPER, MARSH and WINTER WRENS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and increasing numbers of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, HERMIT THRUSH, EASTERN TOWHEE, a few PURPLE FINCHES and various sparrows including CHIPPING, FIELD and SWAMP and EASTERN MEADOWLARK was spotted moving over eastern Manhattan this morning.

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or during the day 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