New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 29, 2017:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 29, 2017
* NYNY1712.29


- Birds mentioned
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD+
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Cackling Goose
TUFTED DUCK
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Semipalmated Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Razorbill
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Laughing Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Barn Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Eastern Phoebe
Marsh Wren
Lapland Longspur
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird

- 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 29th 2017 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN TANAGER, TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, TUFTED DUCK, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EARED GREBE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL and much more.

Of our recent trio of exciting western passerines two continue but one may have moved on. The female plumaged MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD present since December 17th on Tuesday was seen around field 2 at Robert Moses State Park and then very shortly thereafter back at the Red Cedars along the bay side of Democrat Point at the western tip of Fire Island but it has not been reported from there since Tuesday. Please let us know of any later sightings. The WESTERN TANAGER at Crocheron Park in Queens was still present today near the pond at the south end of the park near the terminus of 35th Avenue. The TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, east of Oyster Bay, can be difficult to find but does continue around the field and hedge row on the east side of Sandy Hill Road just north of the entrance to Tiffany Creek Preserve.

An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN arriving at Playland Lake in Rye in Westchester County on the 21st stayed around to provide the Bronx-Westchester Christmas Count with a new record Saturday and was last seen on the lake late Tuesday morning interestingly spotted moving by over Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx about noontime. Fortunately headed south.

Nice ducks in the area, thanks in part to this freeze up, include an eclipse male TUFTED DUCK spotted in a scaup flock on Santapogue Creek in West Babylon near where up to 5 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS continue to be seen. Freezing water could force the flock to move further down the creek towards Phoenician Shores Park. This bird currently has a very short crest.

A female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was spotted this morning off Oak Neck Beach in Bayville probably moving east with some of the Common Goldeneyes. A male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE previously present in the northern part of Jamaica Bay could also be worth looking for.

At Jones Beach West End a winter male KING EIDER in nice plumage off the jetty has been in a flock of Common Eider that also features an immature male KING. Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS also continue near the jetty and if not there could be at the jetties on the Point Lookout side of Jones Inlet. Two young male KING EIDERS were also seen today along the east side of Setauket Harbor as viewed from Shore Road. One of these was noted on the Smithtown Count on Wednesday. An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL in Setauket Harbor was found on Tuesday and another adult remains around Five Island Park in New Rochelle a highlight of the Bronx-Westchester Count.

An EARED GREBE was still present last Sunday off the western end of Oak Beach Road where it's usually west of the Fisherman's parking lot.

Speaking of Christmas Counts the Bronx-Westchester Count last Saturday recorded 108 species including GREATER WHITE-FRONTED and CACKLING GEESE, the AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN and BLACK-HEADED GULL, LAUGHING GULL, EASTERN PHOEBE, a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER along with ORANGE-CROWNED and PINE, CHIPPING SPARROW and a count period a LAPLAND LONGSPUR.

The Smithtown Count Wednesday netted 109 species including 4 CACKLING GEESE, KING EIDER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, RAZORBILL, BARN and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, EASTERN PHOEBE, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and 89 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS as well as count period RED-NECKED GREBE, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and BLACK-HEADED GULL.

The Northern Westchester Count back on the 16th, among its 94 species, featured 32 BALD EAGLES, WILSON'S SNIPE, 4 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS and MARSH WREN.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen today in the clover leafs at the Belt Parkway and Flatbush Avenue intersection near Floyd Bennett Field. Two RED-NECKED GREBES have been at Jamaica Bay off Floyd Bennett recently. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK also reported there yesterday.

A GLAUCOUS GULL and 4 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at the Bellport Bay Yacht Club Monday.

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