New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 13, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 13, 2017
* NYNY1701.13

- Birds Mentioned

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ROSS’S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
TUNDRA SWAN
Eurasian Wigeon
HARLEQUIN DUCK
SANDHILL CRANE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Snowy Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Orange-crowned Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
RED CROSSBILL
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, January 13, 2017 at 6:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, PAINTED BUNTING, SANDHILL CRANE, PINK-FOOTED, BARNACLE, ROSS’S and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, TUNDRA SWAN, HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED and GLAUCOUS GULLS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, RED CROSSBILL, and EVENING GROSBEAK.

With most of this week’s rarities holdovers from earlier, one that wasn’t was a male PAINTED BUNTING appearing briefly at a Yonkers feeder last Sunday morning, its visit presumably prompted by the weekend’s storm. Then today a female PAINTED BUNTING was spotted on Staten Island at the end of Arden Avenue, which is in Annadale, reached from Hylan Boulevard.

The TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, first spotted on the north fork last Friday, was still feeding in the cedars along North Sea Drive northwest of Southold as of today. Look for the bird around the cedars usually on the Long Island Sound side of the road in the vicinity of a blue house #1625 N. Sea Drive – it does range along the road and occasionally to the other side and can sit quietly, sometimes hidden, for awhile. Please park carefully; this is a narrow road.

A SANDHILL CRANE has been present on Wainscott Pond recently, at least through Wednesday, and is best viewed from Wainscott Main Road at the north end of the pond. Three other SANDHILLS were noted flying southwest over Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers late Monday morning, these likely the three moving north over Fort Tryon Park back on the 5th.

For the GEESE, the PINK-FOOTED was still frequenting Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream yesterday, and the BARNACLE has been most regularly seen in the morning at Belmont Lake State Park before the geese fly out towards the Pinelawn and St. Charles cemeteries and adjacent golf course west of Belmont Lake. ROSS’S GEESE continue to pop up in the area, with 1 at Hendrickson Park, 3 visiting Elda Lake off Phelps Lane in north Babylon and another flying over Aquabogue, all last Sunday, with 4 off Alvah’s Lane in Cutchogue Thursday and noted flying by there today.

Among the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE reports were singles at Southard’s Pond Saturday and nearby Elda Lake Monday, 1 at Georgica Pond in East Hampton Monday, 1 on Agawam Lake in Southampton, and 1 back on Playland Lake in Rye at least Monday and Tuesday, this bird flying out early.

CACKLING GEESE are sometimes found in the local CANADA flocks, and the 2 TUNDRA SWANS were still on Lake Ronkonkoma today.

A drake EURASION WIGEON was still visiting the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park Brooklyn to Tuesday, with 1 on Pepperidge Lake in Eastport Wednesday, 1 still on Staten Island, off Arthur Kill Road Thursday, and 1 near Fresh Pond in Northport today.

Look for HARLEQUIN DUCKS along the Jones inlet and Shinnecock inlet jetties.

Adult BLACK-HEADED GULLS continue on Cammans Pond in Merrick and at Five Islands Park in New Rochelle.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted at Bush Terminal Piers Park, Brooklyn, Wednesday, another continues at Shinnecock Inlet, and a couple remain in Bellport, often on ponds in the Atlantic Point Apartments complex in North Bellport, where up to 4 ICELAND GULLS have also been reported. Another ICELAND visited Prospect Park Lake Monday and 1 or more have been along the Brooklyn waterfront between Bush Terminal Piers Park and the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4.

The arrival of wintering SNOWY, NORTHERN SAW-WHET, LONG-EARED and SHORT-EARED OWLS in our area once again prompts us to remind birders to please keep a respectful distance from roosting OWLS – do not in any way hinder their ability to survive with irresponsible disturbances.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS have recently been in Central and Hendrickson Parks and at the Makamah Preserve in Fort Salonga.

YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER were along the fisherman’s road at Jones Beach West End this week, with other ORANGE-CROWNEDS also elsewhere.

Last Saturday on Staten Island the female RED CROSSBILL was still at Midland Beach and an EVENING GROSBEAK was reported flying over Wolf’s Pond Park.

The provenance of a TRUMPETER SWAN recently off Nyack Beach State Park in Rockland County has not been determined, its origin possibly questionable.

To phone in reports call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483 on weekdays.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript