New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 1, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 1, 2019
* NYNY1902.01

- Birds Mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
COMMON GALLINULE
Razorbill
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
American Bittern
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Common Yellowthroat
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
EVENING GROSBEAK

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 1, 2019 at 8:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are VARIED THRUSH, THICK-BILLED MURRE, BARNACLE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-HEADED, GLAUCOUS and ICELAND GULLS, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, COMMON GALLINULE, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, EVENING GROSBEAK and more.

A cold week, with not too much new to offer.

The only report of the VARIED THRUSH we know of comes from yesterday at Clove Lakes Park on northern Staten Island, the bird presumably still in the same area it had been frequenting, namely near Brook’s Pond or along the eastern edge of the park in that vicinity. The paucity of reports of this bird is indicative of the difficulty of locating it in the park and surrounding neighborhood.

The THICK-BILLED MURRE at Shinnecock, however, has been more reliable, seen at least to Wednesday moving up and down the inlet. RAZORBILL numbers have dropped off considerably at the inlet and elsewhere along the coast; the high count from Montauk Point Tuesday noted 44 RAZORBILLS, while last weekend 3 were reported on the bay side at Fort Tilden Saturday, with singles off Coney Island Beach and Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn Sunday.

The BARNACLE GOOSE hanging out with CANADA GEESE in the fields north of Riverhead has been moving around quite a bit, certainly at least partly due to the hunting activity in that area. It was seen Tuesday off Edwards Avenue south of Sound Avenue in fields well west of the more traditional fields around Doctors Path and Route 105. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE has been in the same mobile flocks.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in Westchester has been roosting the last few days on mostly frozen Playland Lake in Rye, and among a few CACKLING GEESE were last Saturday singles on Mill Pond in Oyster Bay and Tung Ting Pond in Centerport.

A drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was still off Crab Meadow Beach in Fort Salonga last weekend, and single drake EURASIAN WIGEON included one Saturday at Makamah Beach in Fort Salonga as well as lingering birds at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center Saturday and on Avon Lake in Amityville today.

A COMMON GALLINULE was present on the lake at Blydenburgh County Park last weekend, frequenting the southwestern edge of Stump Pond near the phragmites stand, best viewed from near the boat launch or from the path to the south.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was present last weekend at Oldfield Point north of Stony Brook, joined there by a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL; other LESSER BLACK-BACKEDS were spotted at Robert Moses State Park Wednesday and at Shinnecock Thursday. Three BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES were off Montauk Point Sunday, with 5 there Tuesday.

ICELAND GULLS included 2 around the Montauk harbor inlet Sunday, with singles Saturday at Crab Meadow Beach and the Eatons Neck Coast Guard Station. A GLAUCOUS GULL was still at the Bellport Bay Yacht Club last weekend.

A RED-NECKED GREBE was still around Shinnecock Inlet Tuesday, and an AMERICAN BITTERN continues along Dune Road. Another BITTERN was still at Clove Lakes Park Wednesday, and one has also been seen recently around the swale at Jones Beach West End up to Wednesday.

A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found last Saturday in Quogue and was still present today along Post Lane just north of the bridge from Dune Road in the vicinity of home #20.

A male EVENING GROSBEAK was still frequenting Riverside Park in northern Manhattan today, and a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was still surviving in Union Square Park last Sunday. A few EASTERN PHOEBES and TREE SWALLOWS have also surprisingly made it through this punishing cold stretch.

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