New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 29, 2019:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* March 29, 2019
* NYNY1903.29

- Birds Mentioned

Cackling Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Eurasian form)
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
American Oystercatcher
Piping Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Laughing Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
Eastern Meadowlark
Boat-tailed Grackle
RED CROSSBILL
Pine Siskin
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, March 29, 2019 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today's tape are EURASIAN WIGEON and Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, RED CROSSBILL, EVENING GROSBEAK and spring migrants.

Wintering waterfowl continue to populate our area, though in much reduced numbers. Among the more unusual ducks, a female EURASIAN WIGEON was still at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn yesterday, with the drake at Marine Park’s Salt Marsh Nature Center seen Wednesday, while the male Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still on Santapogue Creek just below Route 27 A in West Babylon yesterday.

The pair of HARLEQUIN DUCKS was still in Moriches Inlet at the west end of Smith Point County Park Sunday, and among the other birds seen in that stretch were 250 COMMON EIDERS, 3 PIPING PLOVERS and 18 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES.

A CACKLING GOOSE was at Caumsett State Park Wednesday.

Besides increasing numbers of PIPING PLOVERS, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS and GREATER YELLOWLEGS, notable among the shorebirds were a WILLET at the Norman Levy Preserve just east of the Meadowbrook Parkway in Merrick today and a SPOTTED SANDPIPER successfully overwintering at the West Meadow Wetlands Preserve in Stony Brook, seen Tuesday.

A RED-NECKED GREBE was still off Floyd Bennett Field last Sunday, and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Jones Beach West End early in the week.

Among the other arriving non-passerines have been GREAT EGRET, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, a YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON at Cammanns Pond in Merrick as of Saturday, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, LAUGHING GULL, OSPREY, NORTHERN FLICKER and YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.

Passerine highlights in late March feature winter finches, thanks to some RED CROSSBILLS first seen Tuesday out in Manorville on eastern Long Island. Since Tuesday up to 10 have been encountered, along with some PINE SISKINS, near Jones Pond, located off Schultz Road north of exit 69 on the Long Island Expressway, along the Paumanok hiking trail.

And with its stay now in excess of 100 days, the male EVENING GROSBEAK was still visiting Riverside Park in northern Manhattan through Thursday.

Also notable was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, first found in late January, that was seen today out in Quogue, usually present along the east side of Post Lane near houses #18 and 20, this site just over the bridge from Dune Road.

Among the arrivals this week have been a few NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS Wednesday and a PALM WARBLER in Central Park today. Other passerines increasing in numbers this week have included EASTERN PHOEBE, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, WINTER WREN, CHIPPING SPARROW, EASTERN MEADOWLARK and PINE WARBLER.

A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was still in Manhattan’s Union Square Park as of Wednesday.

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