New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 8, 2017:br /> br /> - RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 8, 2017
* NYNY1712.08

- Birds mentioned
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
EARED GREBE
Willet (subspecies "Western Willet")
Red Knot
Parasitic Jaeger
Razorbill
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Snowy Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Lapland Longspur
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Pine Warbler
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (western subspecies "Audubon's" form)
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Clay-colored Sparrow
Boat-tailed Grackle
Pine Siskin

- 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 8th 2017 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, EARED GREBE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, "Audubon's" YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and more.

Present today for its 13th day the unexpectedly long staying HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER will now face its toughest test yet as snow is predicted for Saturday. The flycatcher has been seen daily mostly in Central Park's Ramble and although wandering a bit has usually returned to sections of the Ramble near Azalea Pond with such local names as the Swampy Pin Oak, the Humming Tombstone and the Oven. Hopefully it will be seen at these sites as the snow moves on.

With folks now hoping some of the late lingering passerines will hang around for the local Christmas Counts. Another bird high on that list is the WESTERN TANAGER found Wednesday at Crocheron Park in Queens and still present today. This bird, most likely the same WESTERN present recently at the Alley Pond Environmental Center about a mile away, has generally been seen around the pond at the south end of the park just south of 35th Avenue. This park is on some maps also called John Golden Park. Also in that park yesterday were YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and WILSON'S WARBLER.

Also notable but not apparently lingering was an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER visiting a private residence in Brooklyn Monday.

AN EARED GREBE has been present since last Saturday at Oak Beach returning to the area in Fire Island Inlet just west of the Fisherman's parking lot off Oak Beach Road the same site one frequented late last Winter.

'Tis the season for waterfowl and among the more unusual was a drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE seen last Saturday out in Jamaica Bay northeast of the Fisherman's parking lot at Floyd Bennett Field. HARLEQUIN DUCKS have returned to Jones inlet as of last Sunday with 3 seen on the Jones Beach West End side of the inlet and 2 along the Point Lookout jetties. A male KING EIDER was also seen again in Jones Inlet on Monday. Other notable species around Jones Beach West End this week have included some COMMON EIDERS, a "Western" WILLET, 6 RED KNOTS, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, a PARASITIC JAEGER Sunday, a RAZORBILL Sunday and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR traveling with some Horned Larks. Drake EURASIAN WIGEON continue on the Sayville Mill Pond and Eastport Pond and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE include one at Elda Lake in Babylon Friday, one still at Tung Ting Pond in Centerport and one off Reeves Avenue north of Riverhead Sunday.

A recent large influx of Bonaparte's Gulls along Long Island's south shore provided an accompanying adult LITTLE GULL off Riis Park last Saturday. A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was also off Robert Moses State Park Saturday morning along with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a PARASITIC JAEGER. A BLACK-HEADED GULL has been present at Five Islands Park in New Rochelle this week and a ROYAL TERN was still at Orient Beach State Park last Sunday.

Very unusual has been the male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER lingering around the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center off Yaphank Ave in Yaphank still present at least to Thursday this site also featuring a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW.

In Central Park a collection of late warblers this week has included MAGNOLIA, NASHVILLE, NORTHERN PARULA, ORANGE-CROWNED, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, PINE, AMERICAN REDSTART, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and WILSON'S. A PINE SISKIN has been around the Ramble while a female type BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE also continues in the Common Grackle flock.

Another great bird was a well marked "Audubon's" YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER found west of Napeague Harbor last Saturday.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues in Brooklyn's Green-wood Cemetery and 7 RAZORBILLS were spotted Monday from a boat in eastern Long Island Sound.

Please remember to keep a suitable distance from and do not stress SNOWY OWLS now arriving in our area.

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