New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 18, 2019

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 18, 2019
* NYNY1901.18

- Birds mentioned
COMMON MURRE+
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Razorbill
DOVEKIE
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
GLAUCOUS GULL
ICELAND GULL
BLACK-HEADED GULL
EURASIAN WIGEON
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
HARLEQUIN DUCK
KING EIDER
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eastern Phoebe
Evening Grosbeak
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
Tree Swallow
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Wood Thrush
VARIED THRUSH

- 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 18th 2019 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, VARIED THRUSH, THICK-BILLED MURRE, COMMON MURRE, DOVEKIE, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and more.

Last Saturday an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was spotted at Hayground Cove in Watermill hanging out with a large troop of Mute Swans and it was still present there at least to Wednesday sometimes flying off for a spell. The PELICAN would nonetheless best be looked for in this cove which is nicely viewable from the end of Cove Lane reached from Rose Hill Road on the west side of Hayground Cove.

A VARIED THRUSH resurfaced on Staten Island on Wednesday presumably the same bird first seen at Clove Lakes Park back on December 5th. This wandering bird has been viewed near Brooks Pond in the northern section of the park, though briefly, through today.

The extraordinary recent push of RAZORBILLS along Long Island's south shore due to currently unknown factors has provided additional excitement as well. Peak numbers of RAZORBILLS this week were tallied last Saturday with estimates of around 5 thousand in the Montauk area and over 1,100 off at Shinnecock Inlet. This phenomenon has also produced a few COMMON MURRES around Shinnecock Inlet though only seen one at a time with at least one THICK-BILLED MURRE also occurring in the inlet through at least Thursday. These two species often providing great views as they move up and down the inlet. Also, farther west, a THICK-BILLED MURRE was photographed off Jones Beach West End yesterday and today one was followed as it swam along Gravesend Bay up to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn. A DOVEKIE was also reported flying by Breezy Point last Sunday. This RAZORBILL abundance has out east also produced a number of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES these gulls often attracted to feeding flocks of RAZORBILLS with a peak of 90 estimated off Montauk last Saturday and others also gathering off Shinnecock Inlet.

Also at Shinnecock a drake KING EIDER was seen last Saturday usually hiding in the bay with a few thousand Common Eider. A female HARLEQUIN DUCK has been around the inlet jetties and up to 3 RED-NECKED GREBES have been frequenting the inlet.

A large gathering of Canada Geese on the sod fields north of Riverhead has recently included a BARNACLE GOOSE and at least 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE as well as CACKLING and SNOW GEESE. These fields extend south from Sound Avenue between Doctor's Path on the west and Northville Turnpike on the east and are bisected by Route 105 often a good spot to begin a search. A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still off Hunter's Island at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx today and another drake continues off Crab Meadow Beach in Northport and a female was reported from Sands Point Preserve Sunday. A drake EURASIAN WIGEON continues on Avon Lake in Amityville.

A BLACK-HEADED GULL was still at Jones Beach West End last weekend with one also spotted off Coney Island Creek Tuesday. Single GLAUCOUS GULLS were in Bellport Bay Tuesday and Great Kills Park Wednesday as well as at Triton Lane and an ICELAND GULL remains at the Montauk Harbor entrance with another spotted Monday over the East River in mid Manhattan.

A LAPLAND LONGSPUR flew over Robert Moses State Park Sunday and yesterday a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was relocated at Hither Hills State Park and an EVENING GROSBEAK was still in Riverside Park.

A very late WOOD THRUSH was first spotted in the Quogue Wildlife Refuge last Saturday and it with such lingering species as EASTERN PHOEBE and TREE SWALLOW could find the next few days very difficult.

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