New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 30, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 30, 2018
* NYNY1803.30

- Birds Mentioned

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
EURASIAN WIGEON
RED-NECKED GREBE
AMERICAN BITTERN
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
American Oystercatcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Greater Yellowlegs
RAZORBILL
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Laughing Gull
ICELAND GULL
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
SNOWY OWL
Eastern Phoebe
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Louisiana Waterthrush
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed 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, March 30, 2018 at 8:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are BLACK-HEADED, ICELAND and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, RED-NECKED GREBE, SNOWY OWL, RAZORBILL, AMERICAN BITTERN and a few more spring arrivals.

This week’s highlight was perhaps no nor’easter to deal with, providing opportunities for a few more spring migrants to arrive, but winter birds still dominate locally. A few sightings of BLACK-HEADED GULL include an adult coming into breeding plumage seen as recently as Thursday near Coney Island Creek as viewed from Calvert Vaux Park. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was also present there.

An immature BLACK-HEADED GULL has also been visiting Gravesend Bay, seen at the middle parking lot off the eastbound Belt Parkway up to Thursday, this perhaps the same BLACK-HEADED spotted at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center Saturday and Wednesday.

An ICELAND GULL has also been in the Gravesend Bay/Coney Island Creek area up to today, and among other scattered LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were three at Robert Moses State Park and two at Calvert Vaux Park today.

Among the lingering waterfowl, a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was still on Tung Ting Pond in Centerport last Saturday, and a pair of Eurasian Wigeon was noted at Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 today, with a drake still at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center last weekend.

A number of RED-NECKED GREBES about have included one still at the Restoration Pond at Alley Pond Park today, one at the Salt Marsh Nature Center Wednesday and Thursday, one off Floyd Bennett Field Wednesday, and two in Gravesend Bay today.

After a slow winter except at Montauk Point, RAZORBILLS made a move Wednesday morning when 31 were counted off Robert Moses State Park, mostly headed eastward.

With a few still around, lingering SNOWY OWLS this week were noted within the New York City limits at Breezy Point, Floyd Bennett Field and the Rockaways.

A nice find today was an AMERICAN BITTERN perched in a Tupelo at Tupelo Field in Central Park, while rather odd for Central Park has been a female-type BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE apparently lingering in the southeastern section of the park with a COMMON GRACKLE flock.

Among the newer arrivals this week, these noted today, were some GLOSSY IBIS along the south shore of Long Island, including 48 at Timber Point, a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW at Randalls Island, and single Brooklyn LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES in Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery. Increases this week were noted for GREAT EGRET, YELLOW-CROWNED and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, OSPREY, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, WILSON’S SNIPE, LAUGHING GULL, EASTERN PHOEBE, PINE and PALM WARBLERS, and CHIPPING SPARROW.

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