New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 3, 2017:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 3, 2017
* NYNY1702.03

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

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
EURASIAN WIGEON
TUFTED DUCK
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
Great Egret
Rough-legged Hawk
SANDHILL CRANE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Ovenbird
Lincoln's Sparrow

- 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, February 3rd 2017 at 7pm. The highlights of today's tape are TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, SANDHILL CRANE, PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, ROSS'S GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, TUFTED DUCK, HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER, EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Two eastern Long Island specialties noted again this week included the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE still present in Southold Tuesday and the SANDHILL CRANE reported again last Sunday back on Wainscot Pond. Look for the SOLITAIRE along North Sea Drive especially around the feeders near the blue house number 1625 North Sea Drive. The CRANE had mostly been seen around the north end of Wainscot Pond as viewed from Wainscot Main Road.

The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was still being seen at Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream as of Wednesday. Single ROSS'S GEESE were noted on Marratooka Lake off New Suffolk Avenue in Mattituck last Sunday off Beach Lane in Wainscot Sunday, at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale Monday and on Belmont Lake State Park this morning. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was on Wainscot Pond last Saturday presumably the same one off Beach Lane in Wainscot Sunday and a CACKLING GOOSE also remains at Hendrickson Park. Two TUNDRA SWANS continue on Lake Ronkonkoma to today. On Monday a female immature male type TUFTED DUCK was spotted on Swan Pond off Montauk Highway Route 80 in East Patchogue and was still being seen there today. A female KING EIDER was off Montauk Point last Saturday. Four HARLEQUIN DUCKS were off Orient Point Saturday with 2 still at Shinnecock Inlet Sunday. Continuing EURASIAN WIGEON include one Saturday on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga and yesterday one at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center in Brooklyn and one on Eastport Lake north of Montauk Highway.

The adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was feeding over the water treatment plant adjacent to Owl's Head Park in Brooklyn last Saturday and then seen at nearby Veteran's Memorial Pier where it also visited on Sunday. Single GLAUCOUS GULLS were reported from Shinnecock Inlet Saturday, Prospect Park Lake Monday and North Bellport on Tuesday. Besides the ICELAND GULL continuing around Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn, the lake in Prospect Park attracted two ICELANDS on Monday increasing to 3 there together on Tuesday. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL visited Plumb Beach in Brooklyn Sunday and another appeared at Cammann's Pond in Merrick Thursday and Friday with 2 GREAT EGRETS also there Thursday.

Unusual for Central Park has been a RED-NECKED GREBE on the reservoir from Wednesday through today. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER also continues in Central Park just a little west of East 68th Street and also noted this week were lingering RED-HEADEDS at Kissena Park in Queens and at Hendrickson Park.

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen off Alva's Lane in Cutchogue last Saturday.

Among the few interesting landbirds hanging around in Manhattan have been an OVENBIRD at City Hall Park and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW in Bryant Park.

As news in the more unfortunate category we have no recent reports of the local MEW GULL, GYRFALCON or PAINTED BUNTING and the ROSS'S GULL up north on Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks was not seen today for the first time since Wednesday the 25th.

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. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript