New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 13, 2020:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 13, 2020
* NYNY2003.13


- Birds Mentioned

CACKLING GOOSE
Blue-winged Teal
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Piping Plover
American Woodcock
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
American Pipit
VESPER SPARROW
Rusty Blackbird
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER

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, March 13, 2020 at 9:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, CACKLING GOOSE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, VESPER SPARROW, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a few spring arrivals.

Once again the March doldrums, with the many winter departures not yet replaced by a nice variety of spring arrivals.

On the waterfowl front, with many now headed north, the female KING EIDER at Shinnecock Inlet was not reported after last Sunday, while the female at Orient Point was noted to Wednesday, with the four HARLEQUIN DUCKS at Orient still around the rocks off the point today. The young male HARLEQUIN DUCK has continued to visit Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn up through yesterday.

Also still present in the area at least to last Saturday was the CACKLING GOOSE wintering at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream. A few BLUE-WINGED TEAL are among the inbound migrants.

A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was noted on Central Park Reservoir again last Saturday, with another at Shinnecock Sunday, and this is one species that should be increasing in numbers along the coast in a few weeks.

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was still along Ocean Parkway in the Cedar Beach area on Wednesday.

A trio of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS includes one remaining at the north end of Central Park today, another seen recently through today around the southeastern section of Cunningham Park on Queens, and a third visiting the Long Pond Greenbelt out in Sag Harbor at least to Wednesday.

A VESPER SPARROW has continued at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center on the west side of Yaphank Avenue through last weekend.

Besides the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER still present yesterday at the feeders of the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton, two were spotted at Hendrix Creek in Brooklyn Sunday, and another was in Alley Pond Park yesterday.

Among recent arrivals, two PIPING PLOVERS appeared at Smith Point County Park Wednesday, and AMERICAN WOODCOCK are now displaying at numerous appropriate locations.

On the raptor front, a few more OSPREYS have been spotted this week, and some BALD EAGLES as well as both TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES have been moving through.

Other landbirds on the move recently have included more EASTERN PHOEBES and TREE SWALLOWS and small numbers of AMERICAN PIPITS and EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, as well as some RUSTY BLACKBIRDS appearing in Central, Prospect and other local parks.

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