New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 5, 2018:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 5, 2018
* NYNY1801.05

- Birds mentioned
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE+
WHITE-WINGED DOVE+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Great Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Clapper Rail
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
DOVEKIE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Snowy Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Common Raven
Lapland Longspur
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Savannah Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
RED CROSSBILL

- 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, January 5th 2018 at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, WESTERN TANAGER, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, EARED GREBE, ROSS'S GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, DOVEKIE, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, RED CROSSBILL and more.

Thursday's snow storm, plus recent frigid temperatures, certainly have had a significant effect on regional bird life including 2 rarities struggling to subsist in our area. The WESTERN TANAGER at Crocheron Park in Queens was last seen Wednesday taking advantage of suet placed out for it but it has not been noted in that area since. The TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE east of Oyster Bay was also still present Wednesday but its chances of survival are presumably better than the Tanager's as it has been feeding on junipers in more suitable habitat. This location is on the east side of Sandy Hill Road just north of the entrance to the Tiffany Creek Preserve on the west side of the road. Parking is available at the preserve then continue up Sandy Hill Road past a private road on the right to the field just beyond. When being seen the SOLITAIRE is usually around a small stand of junipers towards the northeastern corner of the field, one juniper still bearing lots of berries. There have been long periods during which the bird is not visible.

The Southern Nassau Christmas Count last Saturday recorded 132 species including a very unusual Winter rarity. A WHITE-WINGED DOVE sticking around a private feeder in Malverne at least long enough to be photographed. Other count highlights included 2 CACKLING GEESE, 7 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 2 KING EIDERS off the Jones Beach West End jetty, one a nice adult like male, 5 GREAT EGRETS, a YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, an EARED GREBE off Nickerson Beach, RED-NECKED GREBE, 2 BALD EAGLES, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, CLAPPER RAIL, 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, ICELAND GULL, SHORT-EARED, NORTHERN SAW-WHET and 3 SNOWY OWLS, 2 COMMON RAVENS, 5 LAPLAND LONGSPURS at Jones Beach West End, a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at the same location as on last year's count, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 36 Ipswich Sparrows [SAVANNAH SPARROW] and 31 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.

Waterfowl moving around more now with most fresh water freezing up have featured a ROSS'S GOOSE at Baisley Pond in Queens Monday and Tuesday. The Brooklyn GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted on the Marine Park Golf Course last Saturday with scattered CACKLING GEESE. Two young male KING EIDERS were still in Setauket Harbor Tuesday as viewed from Shore Road and a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was spotted Monday in Fire Island Inlet from the western end of Oak Beach Road. Up to 7 HARLEQUIN DUCKS remain around Jones Inlet either near the Jones Beach West End jetty or the jetties off the Point Lookout side. Two recent EURASIAN WIGEONS include one in Brooklyn's Salt Marsh Nature Center and one on Mill Pond in Sayville. A flock of 7 DOVEKIES were spotted moving past Montauk Point Tuesday morning and an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was still at Five Islands Park off Route 1 in New Rochelle Westchester County Wednesday. Single GLAUCOUS GULLS were noted at Swan Lake in Patchogue Wednesday and at Goldsmith Inlet in Peconic on the north fork Thursday. An ICELAND GULL was also at Swan Lake Wednesday this following one in Brooklyn last weekend including at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4. Two RED-NECKED GREBES were still off Floyd Bennett Field Monday, another at Jones Beach West End Wednesday and 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS remained along Santapogue Creek in West Babylon at least to Wednesday.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK numbers have been picking up recently especially coastally.

On Staten Island among the few lingering warblers have been the YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER at Midland Beach and a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was noted along Dune Road in West Hampton early in the week.

A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was at Robert Moses State Park field 5 Wednesday and a RED CROSSBILL was reported flying over a Smithtown home last Saturday reminding us to be on the lookout for Winter finches.

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