New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 6, 2019:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 6, 2019
* NYNY1912.06

- Birds mentioned
BROWN PELICAN+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Red-necked Grebe
Razorbill
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
EURASIAN WIGEON
HARLEQUIN DUCK
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Cackling Goose
SANDHILL CRANE
American Woodcock
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
Red-headed Woodpecker
Baltimore Oriole
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
Lincoln's Sparrow
Nashville Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Wilson's Warbler
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
Veery

- 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

Compiler: Tom Burke
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, December 6th 2019 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are BROWN PELICAN, SANDHILL CRANE, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, HARLEQUIN DUCK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and more.

Interestingly BROWN PELICANS continue locally. In Brooklyn an immature BROWN PELICAN was spotted last Saturday from Manhattan Beach Park and then on Sunday in the Narrows north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Out in the Montauk area there have apparently been 3 young BROWN PELICANS recently. Due to deteriorating weather conditions, especially as regards to the continuing well being of these pelicans, local rehabilitators captured single pelicans on Tuesday and Wednesday. These banded birds, as it turns out, were both from Beacon Island in North Carolina's Ocracoke Inlet. A third immature pelican has so far apparently eluded capture near Lake Montauk.

Yesterday morning a SANDHILL CRANE was spotted at Mill Pond Park in Bellmore the bird seen flying off with a Great Blue Heron. This park has also recently hosted a COMMON GALLINULE at least to last Saturday and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT still present today in the southwest portion of the park.

Two sightings of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER last weekend involved one Saturday in the Riverhead area along Doctor's Path near Reeves Avenue and one Sunday at Conference House Park at the southern tip of Staten Island. Neither was reported thereafter.

Last Sunday's storm finally produced some rarer geese locally preceded on Saturday by thousands of SNOW GEESE moving overhead in large skeins. On Tuesday a BARNACLE GOOSE was spotted with Canada's on Belmont Lake State Park in Babylon and was there Wednesday as well. When not roosting here the BARNACLE historically has joined other geese feeding on golf courses or at St. Charles Cemetery to the west. Also on Tuesday a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted on a pond off Bowman Avenue in Rye Brook this an historic site for this bird. Also present today these geese are usually off feeding on local golf courses. Another adult WHITE-FRONTED visited Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx yesterday and today in the Thomas Pelham Marsh area. Out at Schmidt's farm in Melville an adult GREATER WHITE-FRONTED and 2 accompanying apparent Canada X WHITE-FRONTED hybrids, presumably this adults offspring, had been present there for a few days. This site is east of Pine Lawn Road. Several CACKLING GEESE were reported this week.

A EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted Saturday at a traditional spot along Deep Hole Creek off New Suffolk Avenue in Mattituck and a HARLEQUIN DUCK was back off Shell Beach on Shelter Island as of Monday.

An ICELAND GULL on Staten Island Saturday was followed on Sunday by one at Battery Park on Manhattan and Brooklyn sightings at Coney Island Creek and Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4. Two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at Robert Moses State Park Monday when a RAZORBILL was also spotted offshore there. Single RED-NECKED GREBES were noted Saturday off Coney Island Creek and Plumb Beach in Brooklyn and off Staten Island was one seen Sunday off Battery Park.

This Thursday a light phased ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was photographed along Ocean Parkway just east of Zach's Bay. An influx of AMERICAN WOODCOCK has taken place recently due to the latest weather events. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still in Central Park's north end today and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR was reported last Saturday near Icehouse Pond in the town of Montauk.

With Christmas Counts coming up rather soon more interest is turning to some lingering passerines these including recent VEERY and WOOD THRUSH, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, BALTIMORE ORIOLE and various warblers including ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and WILSON'S.

To phone in reports 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