New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 30, 2020:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 31, 2020
* NYNY2001.31

- Birds mentioned
THICK-BILLED MURRE+
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN+
BARNACLE GOOSE+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Razorbill
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
GLAUCOUS GULL
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
BLACK-HEADED GULL
EURASIAN WIGEON
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
HARLEQUIN DUCK
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
BRANT (subspecies "BLACK" BRANT)
Pink-footed Goose (deceased)
Tundra Swan
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
VESPER SPARROW
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Nashville Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
VARIED THRUSH

- 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, January 31st 2020 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are PAINTED BUNTING, VARIED THRUSH, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, THICK-BILLED MURRE, BARNACLE GOOSE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, "BLACK" BRANT, EURASIAN WIGEON, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, ICELAND GULL, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, VESPER SPARROW and more.

This week there have been no reports of the PAINTED BUNTING at Jones Beach but the Brooklyn female plumaged PAINTED BUNTING was seen a few times at Brooklyn Bridge Park spotted Tuesday and Wednesday around Pier 3 after having been noted near Pier 5 last Sunday.

The VARIED THRUSH in Prospect Park remains around the Nethermead Arches and Ravine continuing to be elusive but still being found there with patience through today.

The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN visiting the Sayville area from Thursday the 23rd was seen Saturday and Sunday around the ponds at the San Souci County Nature Preserve on the north side of Montauk Highway just east of Old Broadway Avenue. The PELICAN was flying about regularly and has not been reported since Sunday though possibly still in the area.

Last Saturday's storm did drive a THICK-BILLED MURRE or two into Long Island Sound with one noted Saturday in Port Jefferson Harbor this followed on Sunday by one photographed near the bridge at Pelham Bay Park adjacent to the landfill and another just beyond the New York line at Greenwich Point in Connecticut. There have been no reports since Sunday.

Last Saturday also produced some RAZORBILLS with 36 counted from Jacob Riis Park and 15 noted off Montauk Point. Single RAZORBILLS occurred off Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn last weekend and off Floyd Bennett Field Thursday and also off Staten Island during the week with one still off Playland Park in Rye today.

It was presumably the same two TUNDRA SWANS from Hook Pond last week that visited Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton last Sunday and as recently as yesterday. Four single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were noted this week including at Van Cortlandt Park at least to Wednesday, in the Rye area through today, at Sunken Meadow State Park yesterday and on Short's Pond off Scuttlehole Road in Watermill from Wednesday on. BARNACLE GOOSE was not reported this week but should be looked for at Belmont Lake State Park and in the Riverhead Canada Goose flocks. The previously noted deceased PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was, we've learned, shot in Mattituck on December 7th and is bound for the American Museum of Natural History. A "BLACK" BRANT subspecies was spotted flying up to Floyd Bennett Field and then back out into Jamaica Bay on Thursday. A drake EURASIAN WIGEON continues around the Mill Pond in Centerport. Also noted farther up Centerport Harbor at Fleet's Cove Beach Park on Sunday and the female was seen again Saturday at Bush Terminal Piers Park in Brooklyn. A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE continues in the Common Goldeneye flock at Crab Meadow Beach north of Northport and a female was in Orient Bay off the East Marion causeway Tuesday. On Wednesday the immature male HARLEQUIN DUCK was still at Sheepshead Bay and 2 were at the Point Lookout jetties.

Of the gulls an adult BLACK-HEADED visited Sagg Pond Tuesday, a GLAUCOUS was seen Saturday and Thursday around Shinnecock Inlet, ICELAND included immatures on Central Park Reservoir Sunday and in Sheepshead Bay all week. A few LESSER BLACK-BACKED are scattered about the area and 4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES were off Montauk Point last Saturday.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS continue on Central Park's north end and in Queens southeast of Forest Park with another seen today at Pelham Bay Park.

Continuing are a VESPER SPARROW on Randall's Island and a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW at Playland Park in Rye.

Among several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS continuing locally was one seen today at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in company with single NASHVILLE WARBLER and PALM WARBLERS.

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