New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 22, 2019:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 22, 2019
* NYNY1902.22

- Birds mentioned
PACIFIC LOON+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Razorbill
Black-legged Kittiwake
GLAUCOUS GULL
ICELAND GULL
BLACK-HEADED GULL
LITTLE GULL
EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
KING EIDER
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
American Bittern
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
EVENING GROSBEAK
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Pine Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat

- 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, February 22nd 2019 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are PACIFIC LOON, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, EURASIAN WIGEON, LITTLE GULL, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and EVENING GROSBEAK.

A nicely plumaged winter PACIFIC LOON was still visiting Oyster Bay's Sagamore Yacht Club and adjacent shoreline today usually providing great views as it moves about in the boat basin. It does also occasionally venture out east along the shore as viewable from Florence Avenue, a dead-end road with parking. Enter Oyster Bay on Route 106 and continue on South Street staying to the left at the end by the white tanks to enter the yacht club and adjacent Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park where a large parking lot is available.

Last Saturday at Jones Beach West End a second winter plumaged PACIFIC LOON was spotted well out in the channel off the West End Coast Guard Station but this one has proven to be quite elusive with no recent reports.

Very scarce locally this winter an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE was found last Monday at McAllister County Park in Belle Terre north of Port Jefferson. It was seen for most of the day near Pirate's Cove requiring a westerly walk along the beach but there have been no reports of the SHRIKE in the latter part of this week.

The BARNACLE GOOSE continues in Riverhead Canada Goose flocks being seen at the roosting site on Merritt's Pond east of Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead and as recently as today near the Buffalo Farm off Reeves Avenue farther north off Roanoke. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE also continues to roost on Merritt's Pond and was seen Thursday along Edward's Avenue just south of Sound Avenue. Another GREATER WHITE-FRONTED continues in the Rye area of southern Westchester sometimes resting on Playland Lake and continuing CACKLING GOOSE this week included birds on Miller Field on Staten Island and at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream. KING EIDERS were noted at Shinnecock Inlet again this week. A drake and a female last Saturday and a young male yesterday. Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS were at the Jones Beach West End jetty last Saturday but two were also still at Orient Point County Park with a pair still in Moriches Inlet Sunday followed by a female moving off Robert Moses State Park on Monday. Lingering drake EURASIAN WIGEON in Brooklyn were at the Salt Marsh Nature Center Saturday and Bush Terminal Piers Park today.

The adult LITTLE GULL was still off Montauk Point with Bonaparte's Gulls last Saturday while 8 or more BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and over 200 RAZORBILLS were also reported off Montauk State Park. A BLACK-HEADED GULL was also still at the south end of Lake Montauk Tuesday. Brooklyn too continues to provide BLACK-HEADED GULLS with birds noted during the week at Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4, Veteran's Memorial Pier and Sheepshead Bay. A GLAUCOUS GULL was still at the Bellport Bay Yacht Club today and ICELAND GULLS continue at Brooklyn's Austin Nichol's House and Gravesend Bay and at the Montauk Harbor Inlet.

Unusual this winter in our area a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted along the loop causeway last Saturday.

Multiple RED-NECKED GREBES and AMERICAN BITTERNS were also reported this week.

Warblers this week included OVENBIRD at the Bronx Zoo, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT continuing in Union Square Park in Manhattan and a PINE at Southaven County Park and an EVENING GROSBEAK male continues at Riverside Park in northern Manhattan.

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