New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 2, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 2, 2018
* NYNY1802.02

- Birds Mentioned

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
ROSS’S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
TUNDRA SWAN
EURASIAN WIGEON
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Common Goldeneye
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Razorbill
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Snowy Owl

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

Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
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, February 2, 2018 at 8:00 pm.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties we have not been able to record the tape recently.

The highlights of today’s tape are BARNACLE, PINK-FOOTED, ROSS’S and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER, EURASIAN WIGEON, EARED GREBE and BLACK-HEADED and GLAUCOUS GULLS.

With waterfowl providing most of this week’s highlights, new for the area was a BARNACLE GOOSE showing up Monday on Playland Lake in Rye, Westchester County. The goose daily except for Wednesday, when it was on a nearby mill pond, has been roosting in the morning on the lake ice with about 400 CANADAS and an accompanying CACKLING GOOSE; the birds tend to arrive around 8 am and are generally gone by noon, though the times do vary. The BARNACLE was seen leaving a local golf course late this afternoon, headed to an unknown overnight location. Interesting that this BARNACLE and CACKLING pair is presumably the same pair seen initially in Western Massachusetts and later around Westport, Connecticut before moving to Rye.

The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was still visiting the Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk at least to Monday, usually seen on the pastures on the south side of Route 27 east of town. If not there, check the Montauk Downs Golf Course.

A ROSS’S GOOSE has been roosting overnight recently on the lake at Belmont Lake State Park and has been found feeding with CANADAS during the day at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, west of Belmont Lake.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen at least to Monday on Tung Ting Pond in Centerport.

A TUNDRA SWAN was still present on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge through Wednesday.

Among the ducks, a drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was spotted Thursday off Crab Meadow Beach in Northport, while the female in Fire Island Inlet was still in a COMMON GOLDENEYE flock as viewed from Oak Beach Road last Saturday.

A young male KING EIDER was still present yesterday around the jetties off Point Lookout, best approached from Point Lookout Town Park, and a decent number of HARLEQUIN DUCKS also continue there. Another young male KING was present at Old Field Point up to Thursday at least, this at the end of Old Field Road.

And drake EURASIAN WIGEON continue on the Sayville Mill Pond on the north side of Montauk Highway and at Mill Creek on the southwest side of Staten Island.

Getting back to Old Field Point, an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL spotted there Monday was still present today, and other GULLS there featured up to three ICELAND and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED. An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL also continues at Five Islands Park in New Rochelle, and an immature visited the middle parking lot off the Belt Parkway at Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn Saturday.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was still on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Refuge Sunday, and out east single GLAUCOUS GULLS were noted at Montauk Point Saturday and Orient Point Tuesday.

An ICELAND GULL visited Central Park Reservoir last Saturday, with another at Crab Meadow Beach Thursday.

Five RAZORBILLS were off Montauk Point Thursday, with a single spotted at Breezy Point Saturday.

An EARED GREBE was still near the docks off the western end of Oak Beach Road yesterday, and last Saturday an EARED GREBE was spotted at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, this bird off Rodman’s Neck and spotted there again Thursday as viewed from a marina just over the City Island bridge. One of a few regional RED-NECKED GREBES has also been around City Island, with others noted off Floyd Bennett Field, Riis Park and at Timber Point in Great River.

As part of the nice continuing invasion of SNOWY OWLS, last Sunday four could be seen along the marshes and offshore islands as viewed from Jamaica Bay’s West Pond.

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

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

- End transcript