New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 7, 2020:

RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Feb. 07, 2020
* NYNY2002.07

- Birds Mentioned

BARNACLE GOOSE+
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
VARIED THRUSH+
PAINTED BUNTING+
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
King Eider
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
American Bittern
Rough-legged Hawk
Common Gallinule
Razorbill
Black-headed Gull
Iceland Gull
Red-headed Woodpecker
Sedge Wren
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat


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, February 7, 2020 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are PAINTED BUNTING, VARIED THRUSH, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, SEDGE WREN, THICK-BILLED MURRE, BARNACLE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, TUNDRA SWAN, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER and HARLeQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED GULL, CLAY-COLORED, GRASSHOPPER and VESPER SPARROWS and more.

Two lingering Brooklyn highlights feature the female-type PAINTED BUNTING present at least to Wednesday near Pier 4 at Brooklyn Bridge Park and the VARIED THRUSH continuing up to Wednesday around the Nethermead in Prospect Park.

A female-type YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen briefly Sunday in a large foraging flock visiting cornfields off Stephen Hands Path north of Sag Turnpike in East Hampton.

A SEDGE WREN, perhaps the one initially found late last December, has been heard and occasionally seen briefly from Sunday through Wednesday at the Arshamomaque Pond Preserve east of Southold on the North Fork.

Last Saturday afternoon a THICK-BILLED MURRE was spotted on the ocean swimming west off Jones Beach Field 6 and then Sunday morning was seen for a short while along the shoreline and off the seawall on the east side of Jones Inlet before disappearing. Another THICK-BILLED MURRE appeared off Montauk Point last Sunday morning along with a few RAZORBILLS.

A BARNACLE GOOSE was noted last Saturday on the Riverhead sod fields in a CANADA GOOSE flock located off Osborn Avenue south of Sound Avenue.

Today a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE appeared on the ballfields at Valmont Village Park in Commack with some CANADA GOOSE, and another remains in the Rye area in southern Westchester.

Two TUNDRA SWANS were again on Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton Sunday, with presumably the same two on fields off Cook’s Lane in Watermill last Saturday.

A drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was still off Crab Meadow Beach in Northport last Sunday, while last Saturday a pair of BARROW’s occurred off the 3 Mile Harbor side of Sammy’s Beach in East Hampton, with the male noted through Monday.

The female KING EIDER was still along the east side of Shinnecock Inlet with COMMON EIDER through Tuesday, usually best viewed from the east side but also sometimes visible from the west side of the Inlet.

The young male HARLEQUIN DUCK was still around Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn today, and up to four continue off Orient Point, with two or more also around Jones Inlet, often at the Point Lookout jetties.

In Brooklyn an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL visited Prospect Park Lake last Saturday, with sightings also at Sheepshead Bay over last weekend and at Riis Park in Queens today.

An ICELAND GULL also continues to visit Sheepshead Bay, with another appearing on Central Park Reservoir last Saturday.

High counts of RAZORBILLS this week featured thirty off Breezy Point Sunday and six at Riis Park today.

A COMMON GALLINULE was still at Mill Pond Park in Bellmore Tuesday, one or two AMERICAN BITTERNS have been seen regularly off Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted at the Calverton grasslands last Saturday.

Single RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still in Central Park and Pelham Bay Park at least to Monday.

A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was present with CHIPPING SPARROWS at Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island Sunday and Monday, a VESPER SPARROW continued on Randall’s Island at least to Sunday, and a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was still at Playland Park in Rye Wednesday.

Among this week’s WARBLERS were a couple each of NASHVILLE and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and three ORANGE-CROWNEDS.

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