New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 1, 2017

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 1, 2017
* NYNY1712.01

- Birds mentioned
PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER+
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Red-headed Woodpecker
Common Raven
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Dickcissel
Boat-tailed Grackle

- 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

Compilers: Tom Burke and 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, December 1st 2017 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, ROSS'S GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, LAPLAND LONGSPUR and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. A good week for birds.

First spotted near the Ramble in Central Park early last Sunday a small empidonax flycatcher was accommodating enough to enable sufficiently detailed photos that soon determined its identity as a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER. A third record for New York State. Seen everyday since Sunday the flycatcher has been elusive but when being observed it has usually been in areas of the Ramble with such names as the Oven, the Gill, the Rustic Shelter and the Swampy Pin Oak. This latter, a tree that hasn't existed since Hurricane Sandy. The above areas are all near Azalea Pond just west of the Boat House on Central Park Lake. But today the flycatcher also ventured a little farther north to the south end of the Maintenance Meadow but was seen later again near Azalea Pond. Hopefully for the weekend folks will be able to track the bird and direct arriving birders to its current location.

The WESTERN TANAGER at the Alley Pond Environmental Center was being seen at least through Tuesday along the trail that enters the east side of the park right after crossing the Northern Boulevard bridge over the creek. Parking is at the center on the west side of the creek. Interestingly a second WESTERN TANAGER has been visiting a private residence in Stony Brook first seen on November 17th but only subsequently and positively identified.

Staying with the landbirds. A male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER has been present at least since last Friday at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center off Yaphank Avenue in Yaphank. Two other interesting reports from that location during the week both accompanied by photographs were a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE last Sunday and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW today. A gathering of over 30 COMMON RAVENS seen there today was also quite impressive.

A PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was found with Canadas in Montauk Tuesday this on the south side of Route 27 at the Deep Hollow Ranch. A ROSS'S GOOSE was photographed in Connetquot River State Park in Great River last Saturday. Single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE continue to be seen at Belmont Lake State Park and Tung Ting Pond in Centerport as well as at other sites. Seemingly widespread CACKLING GEESE include 2 in Prospect Park last Sunday. Both drake EURASIAN WIGEON continue to be noted at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, on Mill Pond in West Sayville, on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga and on Eastport Lake.

Among the gulls, missed on last week's tape, was a subadult LITTLE GULL off Montauk Point on November 23rd and the presumed Pelham Bay BLACK-HEADED GULL was back at Five Islands Park in New Rochelle last Saturday. An ICELAND GULL was at Playland Park in Rye Tuesday and at Riis Park last Saturday a single BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was joined by an ICELAND and two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS. The latter still around in low numbers. A PARASITIC JAEGER was off Jones Beach West End Saturday. At least one HUDSONIAN GODWIT continued at Heckscher State Park through last Saturday.

An immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn Wednesday. A DICKCISSEL visited Robert Moses State Park last Saturday and LAPLAND LONGSPURS featured singles at Smith Point County Park Saturday and at the Fire Island Hawkwatch Sunday.

Unusual by location was a BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE with Common Grackles in Central Park's Sheep Meadow last weekend. Decent numbers of ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS continue in the area but the nice list of late lingering other warblers have folks thinking already of the upcoming Christmas Counts this list including OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, BLACK-AND-WHITE, NASHVILLE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, CANADA and WILSON'S.

To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.

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

- End transcript