New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, April 6, 2018:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Apr. 06, 2018
* NYNY1804.06

- Birds Mentioned

PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form)
KING EIDER
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-Necked Grebe
American Bittern
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Piping Plover
Razorbill
Bonaparte’s Gull
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Snowy Owl
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Brown Thrasher
Louisiana Waterthrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
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, April 6, 2018 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are PAINTED BUNTING, LITTLE and BLACK-HEADED GULLS, EURASIAN WIGEON, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER and spring arrivals, including YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER.

While still awaiting spring, probably the most exciting sign of seasonal change was the female PAINTED BUNTING that appeared twice at feeders at a private home in Elmsford, Westchester County, first noted there last Saturday and then appearing for a short time on Monday. It has not been seen since, but good distinctive photos were obtained.

Out on Staten Island last Saturday two nice GULLS were spotted with a large flock of BONAPARTE’S GULLS on the pond at Wolf’s Pond Park, first an adult winter-plumaged LITTLE GULL and later an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL. Then this afternoon two adult LITTLE GULLS appeared on the pond, with one fairly well advanced towards breeding plumage.

Other GULLS this week featured an ICELAND at Playland Park in Rye this evening and at least three LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS last Wednesday, with one in the Coney Island area, one at Heckscher State Park and one at Crab Meadow Park, with another last Saturday at Playland Park.

A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was still at the Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 Monday, and a drake EURASIAN form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL has been on the pond at Willowbrook Park on Staten Island at least to Monday.

Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS, including two drakes, were still at the Point Lookout jetties yesterday, and two female KING EIDERS were among an estimated 750 COMMON EIDERS at Shinnecock Inlet last Saturday.

A few RED-NEDCKED GREBES continue in the area, including the one on the Restoration Pond at Alley Pond Park and two each off Floyd Bennett Field and on Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn last Saturday, when one was noted at the Marine Park Saltmarsh Nature Center.

The continuing RAZORBILL flight under proper conditions provided 24 off Tiana Beach west of Shinnecock Inlet last Saturday and 7 off Robert Moses State Park Sunday.

A SNOWY OWL was still at Point Lookout Thursday, and the AMERICAN BITTERN stayed to Saturday in Central Park, where the female BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE remained at least to Wednesday.

An informal hawk watch last Saturday near the Alley Pond Environmental Center produced an impressive 186 TURKEY VULTURES and a variety of hawks.

Among a small number of spring arrivals this week was an early YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER noted yesterday at Connetquot River State Park. This species has bred at Connetquot in past years but last year was poorly represented there, so remember to avoid disturbing or putting any stress especially upon these and other sparsely occurring regional breeders, though of course any disturbances to birds in breeding season should be absolutely avoided.

Other recent arrivals have included TRICOLORED HERON, a CATTLE EGRET last Friday at Shinnecock Inlet, BARN SWALLOW, BROWN THRASHER and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.

An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at the Alley Restoration Pond this week and other arrivals increasing in numbers have included PIPING PLOVER, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and, among the WARBLERS, PALM, PINE and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH.

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