New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 23, 2016:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 23, 2016
* NYNY1612.23

- Birds Mentioned
PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
WESTERN TANAGER+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Snow Goose
ROSS’S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Blue-winged Teal
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Red-necked Grebe
American Bittern
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Virginia Rail
Spotted Sandpiper
Razorbill
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Laughing Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Black Skimmer
Barn Owl
Snowy Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Merlin
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Common Raven
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Lapland Longspur
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Boat-tailed Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
Evening Grosbeak

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

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, December 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm. Highlights include PAINTED BUNTING, BLACK-HEADED GULL, PINK-FOOTED, BARNACLE, ROSS’S and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, NORTHERN SHRIKE, and Christmas Count results including WESTERN TANAGER plus more.

In an interesting week, a few nice rarities not associated with Christmas Counts included a female PAINTED BUNTING nicely photographed Wednesday during its short appearance at a private feeder in Mastic.

In Westchester, an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL has returned to Five Islands Park in New Rochelle, accessed by Le Fevres Lane off Route 1; look especially around the water treatment facility. Late today at low tide it was at Premium Mill Pond in Larchmont. Another BLACK-HEADED GULL has been seen since Monday at Cammann’s Pond off Merrick Road in Merrick, Long Island

And of course there are the Geese, two of which frustrated Counts by not showing up on Count Day. The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream took count day off but has been present most days, joined recently by a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

On Thursday, a 2nd PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was spotted in a large CANADA GOOSE flock on the parade grounds at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and visited there again today along with single CACKLING and SNOW GEESE.

The BARNACLE GOOSE often roosting overnight on the lake at Belmont Lake State Park unfortunately took the Count day off.

Similarly for the Greenwich Stamford Count, a PINK-FOOTED GOOSE departed just before the Count, while a ROSS’S GOOSE appeared just after Count day.

On Tuesday, two ROSS’S GEESE showed up by the water tower at Robert Moses State Park, and they were still being seen there today.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE appeared for the Captree Count Sunday, another was spotted on Town Lane in Amagansett Sunday, an adult returning to Playland Lake in Rye was still there today, and a 4th WHITE-FRONTED was at Southards Pond Park in Babylon Wednesday.

The Christmas Counts held last weekend had to endure some rotten weather, with snow, rain, fog and high winds all in the mix.

On Saturday the Montauk Count record 118 species, highlights including 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS, 3 VIRGINIA RAILS, 34 RAZORBILLS, SNOWY and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, EASTERN PHOEBE, a COMMON RAVEN as a new Count addition, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

Also on Saturday, Northern Nassau recorded 100 species, including RED-NECKED GREBE, BALD EAGLE, MERLIN, OSPREY, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, 4 COMMON RAVENS, and a YELLOW-BREASED CHAT at the Plandome railroad station.

On slightly better Sunday, the Kings County Count netted 119 species, featuring 5 WOOD DUCKS and 5 COMMON EIDER, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER new for the count, 5 LAUGING GULLS, 3 BLACK SKIMMERS, SNOWY and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, EASTERN PHOEBE and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

The Queens Count came in with 118 species including CACKLING GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, BALD EAGLE, BARN OWL, 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, a WESTERN TANAGER identified at Cedar Grove Cemetery, HOUSE and 2 MARSH WRENS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, CHIPPING SPARROW and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

Captree Sunday came in with 113 species featuring GREATER WHITE-FRONTED and CACKLING GEESE, BALD EAGLE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, EASTERN PHOEBE, 2 MARSH WRENS, 4 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 3 CHIPPING SPARROWS, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR, and 42 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES.

Greenwich Stamford Sunday recorded 112 species including 2 TUNDRA SWANS, EURASIAN WIGEON, 2 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 3 RED-NECKED GREBES, RAZORBILL, an immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE on Long Island Sound, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

The Manhattan section of the Lower Hudson Count Sunday added ICELAND GULL, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

Among the Rockland Count’s 88 species Sunday were MERLIN and 2 EVENING GROSBEAKS.

A fish kill on the beach at Triton Lane off Dune Road last Friday had attracted GLAUCOUS, 2 ICELAND, and 6 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and others of each were noted during the week.

Two HARLEQUIN DUCKS were at Shinnecock Inlet last Friday, with 3 at the Jones Beach West End jetty on the 14th.

A NORTHERN SHRIKE has been in Lewisboro in northern Westchester this week.

To phone in reports, call Tom Burke weekdays at 212-372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Have a Happy Holiday!

- End transcript