New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert fir the week ending Friday, February 23, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 23, 2018
* NYNY1802.23

- Birds Mentioned

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

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
TUNDRA SWAN
Wood Duck
KING EIDER
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Killdeer
American Bittern
Rough-legged Hawk
American Woodcock
Bonaparte’s Gull
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle

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 23, 2018 at 8:00 pm.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties we have not been able to completely record the tape recently, unexplained gaps continuing to appear in the message.

The highlights of today’s tape are LITTLE and BLACK-HEADED GULLS, PINK-FOOTED, BARNACLE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE and KING EIDER, EARED GREBE and more.

Even with waterfowl now on the move and a few expected early arrivals showing up in the area, this week’s report has a familiar ring to it.

The Montauk PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was noted both days last weekend back on the pastures at the Deep Hollow Ranch on the south side of Route 27.

Also in the Montauk area, the adult LITTLE GULL apparently moved away from the Point area, being seen Monday in a good-sized BONAPARTE’S GULL flock off Ditch Plains, and a male KING EIDER was a reported fly-by at the Point on Monday.

On Wednesday, two BARNACLE GEESE were found on the pond at Gerry Park in Roslyn, but haven’t been seen there since – this pond is south of Papermill Road below Roslyn Pond.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted at Hook Pond in East Hampton Saturday, and the TUNDRA SWAN was still on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Wednesday, staying mostly up towards the north end. A few CACKLING GEESE also continue in the region.

A drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was still off Crab Meadow Beach last weekend, this Northport site reached from the end of Waterside Road. The wintering female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE in Fire Island inlet was spotted again last Saturday off the west end of Oak Beach Road. That site is also where the EARED GREBE was still present last Sunday.

A decently plumaged male KING EIDER was still at Old Field Point last Sunday, this site at the end of Old Field Road also hosting a LESSER BLACK-BACKED and up to four ICELAND GULLS.

Sightings of BLACK-HEADED GULLS this week included an adult at Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach last Saturday and one Monday at Calvert Vaux Park, as well as the adult at New Rochelle’s Five Islands Park on Wednesday.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was still at Orient Point State Park Saturday, and ICELAND GULLS featured one on Central Park Reservoir Thursday and one last Saturday at Coney Island Beach.

Two RED-NECKED GREBES at unexpected locations included one on the Alley Pond Park Restoration Pond next to the Douglaston Parkway from Saturday to Wednesday and another on Lake Ronkonkoma Monday.

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted on Ruffle Bar in Jamaica Bay as viewed from Floyd Bennett Field last Wednesday.

AMERICAN BITTERN continues to be seen along Dune Road west of the Ponquogue Bridge.

Along with the brief warm weather spell came the first of the early spring’s AMERICAN WOODCOCKS, hopefully not to be trapped by a cold snap like they were last year. Also appearing are some KILLDEER and WOOD DUCKS and flocks of COMMON GRACKLES and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, as well as a few RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.

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