New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 17, 2020:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 17, 2020
* NYNY2001.17


BARNACLE GOOSE+
ATLANTIC PUFFIN+
PAINTED BUNTING+
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Canada Goose
EURASIAN WIGEON
KING EIDER
Common Eider
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Common Goldeneye
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
NORTHERN FULMAR
Rough-legged Hawk
Common Gallinule
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Veery
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler

- Birds Mentioned

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

Compiler: Tom Burke
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, January 17, 2020 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are PAINTED BUNTING, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, DOVEKIE plus a boat trip that also included ATLANTIC PUFFIN, NORTHERN FULMAR and BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, BARNACLE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK and EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-HEADED, GLAUCOUS and ICELAND GULLS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, some lingering passerines and more.

Of the 2 female-plumaged PAINTED BUNTINGS recently in our area, the one at Brooklyn Bridge Park was seen as least to Tuesday around Pier 5, while the one at Jones Beach was still around the shrubbery by the playground just east of the Gatsby Restaurant and the West Bathhouse on Wednesday.

A female-type YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD reappeared Wednesday out in the Riverhead area, being seen in a large mixed Blackbird/Starling flock around the eastern section of Reeves Avenue east of Roanoke Avenue.

A DOVEKIE was seen inside Shinnecock Inlet last Sunday, with another reported Tuesday off Smith Point County Park in Shirley.

A fishing boat last Saturday out of Brielle, New Jersey, venturing into waters along the New York/New Jersey boundary, encountered hundreds of DOVEKIES as well as an ATLANTIC PUFFIN, some RAZORBILLS, 3 NORTHERN FULMARS and a few BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES.

RAZORBILLS have been occurring along the Atlantic Coast from Breezy Point and Riis Park out to Shinnecock and other Eastern Long Island sites; 1 also appeared in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn mid-week, with a couple off Rye Playland in Long Island Sound recently.

A BARNACLE GOOSE continues to roost on the pond at Belmont Lake State Park, and another has been traveling in the large flock of CANADA GEESE around the Riverhead sod fields, especially near Route 105 or off Doctors Path to the west. The fields near Osborne Avenue further west produced a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Tuesday, while another continues in the Rye area of Westchester, often on a pond off Bowman Avenue or on Playland Lake.

A drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE remains in a COMMON GOLDENEYE flock off Crab Meadow Beach in Northport, the flock often off the western sector of the beach, and a female BARROW’S was spotted again Sunday in Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay.

A female KING EIDER was found Saturday in a COMMON EIDER flock in Shinnecock Inlet that was near the rocks off the parking lot on the East side of the inlet - it was still reported there Tuesday.

A drake HARLEQUIN DUCK also continues around the Shinnecock Inlet jetties, with others around Jones Inlet and off Orient Point, and an immature male was still at Sheepshead Bay today.

A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was still on the Centerport Mill Pond Wednesday.

Adult BLACK-HEADED GULLS as recently as Wednesday were noted at Brooklyn Bridge Park and at Sheepshead Bay as well as around the spit off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted off the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last Sunday, while ICELAND GULLS were noted at Sheepshead Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, Jacob Riis Park and out at Shinnecock Inlet.

Two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at Coney Island Beach Sunday.

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was still along Ocean Parkway near Tobay today.

A COMMON GALLINULE remains on Mill Pond off Merrick Road in Bellmore, and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was still at Central Park’s north end today.

A number of Passerines hanging out locally may be unfortunately in for a jolt with this upcoming storm; these include a VEERY and a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT in Bryant Park, a couple of VESPER SPARROWS on Randall’s Island, and a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW at Playland Park in Rye as well as a few EASTERN PHOEBES, TREE SWALLOWS, CHIPPING SPARROWS and the like. The WILSON’S WARBLER in Prospect Park was last reported last Sunday.

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