New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 27, 2017:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 27, 2017
* NYNY1701.27

- Birds mentioned
PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
TRUMPETER SWAN+
ROSS'S GULL+
MEW GULL+
GYRFALCON+
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
Green-winged Teal (Eurasian form "Common Teal")
King Eider
Barrow's Goldeneye
Black Vulture
SANDHILL CRANE
Dovekie
Razorbill
Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-headed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Red-headed Woodpecker
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Evening Grosbeak

- 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, January 27th 2017 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are MEW GULL, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, PAINTED BUNTING, SANDHILL CRANE, a mostly New Jersey GYRFALCON and of course the Adirondacks ROSS'S GULL and much more.

Today a MEW GULL, perhaps the bird noted in Brooklyn on December 12th, was seen at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 at the end of 58th Street on the Hudson River and the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on Long Island's north fork was still being enjoyed at least to Wednesday though it has made extended moves recently. Eventually so far it has returned fairly regularly to the vicinity of the blue house number 1625 North Sea Drive where it does feed in the feeders around there. The female plumaged PAINTED BUNTING also continues at its seaside location in Annadale on Staten Island but it's been staying in the denser vegetation along the beach at the end of Arden Avenue. Look especially near the feeder at the western end of the lawn area adjacent to the dead end Ocean Driveway. Unlike the two of those species the SANDHILL CRANE on eastern Long Island was last seen last Saturday not on Wainscot Pond but in a field on Wainscot Hollow Road and has eluded birders since.

Of note is a gray GYRFALCON seen since last Saturday generally across the Hudson River at the State Line Lookout in Alpine New Jersey but it may've ventured over to New York today and then there's the immature ROSS'S GULL visiting the Tupper Lake area in the Adirondacks recently first noted Wednesday and still there today.

For the rarer geese the PINK-FOOTED was still visiting Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream at least to Wednesday and the BARNACLE has recently been most reliably found at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale with a few ROSS'S GOOSE reports featuring one at St. Charles Saturday and at the nearby private golf course Sunday, one at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx last Saturday and one in the Cutchogue area on eastern Long Island along Oregon Road Tuesday and off Alva's Lane Wednesday. Some CACKLING GEESE include 5 identified on Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday. A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was just west of the Sands Point Preserve last Saturday but not Sunday and a female has appeared again on Staten Island on the pond at Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp first noted Wednesday. An immature male KING EIDER was reported Saturday off Centre Island east of Bayville and 2 KINGS were present off Montauk Point last Saturday these an adult and immature male, 2 females were also in Fire Island Inlet this week. Also at Montauk a DOVEKIE was reported off the town of Montauk Thursday and good numbers of RAZORBILLS have been off the point where 4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES were seen Tuesday. Two TUNDRA SWANS were still on Lake Ronkonkoma Monday and 6 were noted moving northwest over Brooklyn Wednesday morning. A TRUMPETER SWAN of unknown origin continues in the vicinity of Nyack Beach State Park in Rockland County. A EURASIAN WIGEON was in Setauket Harbor Tuesday with the Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL on the Setauket Mill Pond Saturday. Other EURASIAN WIGEON include a drake continuing in Eastport at Pepperidge Lake or the Mill Pond and another on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga Wednesday with the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center bird also seen today.

The adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was still at Cammann's Pond in Merrick last Saturday, another appeared at Southards' Pond Park in Babylon Sunday and a third adult visited the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 Monday. The latter site also featured a GLAUCOUS GULL Sunday with others noted Saturday in North Bellport, Sunday off Sands Point and at Sagg Pond. A RAZORBILL was off Brighton Beach in Brooklyn Sunday.

At least 9 BLACK VULTURES were seen together in Brooklyn Wednesday these over Green-wood Cemetery where perhaps an additional 5 have been seen earlier in the morning. RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still present during the week in central Kissena and Hendrickson Parks.

Unusual passerines included a few ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at Floyd Bennett Field Wednesday and an EVENING GROSBEAK stopping briefly by a feeder in a Stony Brook yard last Saturday morning.

To phone in reports 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