New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 7, 2017:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 7, 2017
* NYNY1704.07

- Birds Mentioned

TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
Redhead
EARED GREBE
American Bittern
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Northern Goshawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Clapper Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
WHIMBREL
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Laughing Gull
ICELAND GULL
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
GLAUCOUS GULL
Short-eared Owl
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Magnolia Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Orchard Oriole

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, April 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, EARED GREBE, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, EURASIAN WIGEON, GLAUCOUS, ICELAND and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, WHIMBREL, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and various migrants.

Still hanging in there, the TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE was seen as recently as Thursday around its preferred location near blue house #1625 North Sea Drive on the north fork in Southold. With each passing front its continuation becomes more unlikely.

The EARED GREBE was rather accommodating as it fed Sunday just west of the fisherman’s parking lot along Oak Beach Road.

A nice find though a brief sighting was a NORTHERN SHRIKE videoed Tuesday at Rockefeller State Park in Pocantico Hills, Westchester County, the bird moving about actively.

An immature BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted Wednesday at Sagg Main Beach in Southampton, where three LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were also present. Several other LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS during the week included 7 Thursday at Floyd Bennett Field along with a GLAUCOUS GULL and up to 6 Thursday at Heckscher State Park. An ICELAND GULL also continues in Brooklyn.

Single drake EURASIAN WIGEONS were noted in Brooklyn at Dreier-Offerman Park Sunday and at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center at least to Monday. One or 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS have also been seen at the Salt Marsh Nature Center from Saturday to Wednesday, with others also about.

The Prospect Park immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK was still being reported last weekend.

An AMERICAN BITTERN was at Baisley Pond in Queens Saturday along with 2 lingering REDHEADS, and 20 WILSON’S SNIPE were counted at Willow Lake in Queens Wednesday, with some elsewhere as well.

This week’s RED-HEADED WOODPECKER reports, all lingering birds, come from Central Park just west of East 68th Street, Kissena Park in Queens, Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream, Sunken Meadow State Park and Northport’s Makamah Preserve.

On Wednesday single ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were spotted at Kissena Park and the Salt Marsh Nature Center.

Hempstead Lake State Park, a usually quite productive site in early spring, has lately provided decent numbers of migrants including EASTERN PHOEBE, BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and BARN SWALLOWS, PINE and PALM WARBLERS and up to 8 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, these also appearing at various sites now.

Among the more unusual recent arrivals have been a TRICOLORED HERON reported Monday off Dune Road, LITTLE BLUE HERON at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, with 3 at Cammans Pond Sunday, and a few species of shorebirds including SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, WILLET, and a WHIMBEL today at Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton. Other non-passerines have included GLOSSY IBIS, CLAPPER RAIL, LAUGHING GULL, and a few BROAD-WINGED HAWKS.

A gathering of 20 PIPING PLOVERS visited the Jones Beach West End Coast Guard bar on the falling tide Sunday.

Among the passerines, early was an ORCHARD ORIOLE in Central Park today, while a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH today at Babylon’s Southards Pond Park is presumably the same one noted there twice in February. LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES are now showing up, and a MAGNOLIA WARBLER, very early, was reported at the Salt Marsh Nature Center Wednesday. Also noted have been a few BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, and 2 VESPER SPARROWS were at Jones Beach West End Wednesday. HERMIT THRUSH and WINTER and MARSH WRENS are also among the earlier migrants to be enjoyed currently.

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