New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 25, 2020:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 25, 2020
* NYNY2012.25


- Birds Mentioned

MEW GULL+
WESTERN TANAGER+
PAINTED BUNTING+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greater White-fronted Goose
BARNACLE GOOSE
KING EIDER
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Purple Sandpiper
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
Black-legged Kittiwake
Bonaparte’s Gull
Iceland Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Eastern Phoebe
WESTERN KINGBIRD
House Wren
SEDGE WREN
Veery
Wood Thrush
Evening Grosbeak
Common Redpoll
Red Crossbill
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
Grasshopper Sparrow
LECONTE’S SPARROW
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Baltimore Oriole
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
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, December 25, 2020 at 9 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are MEW GULL, LECONTE’S SPARROW, PAINTED BUNTING, DOVEKIE, SEDGE WREN, WESTERN TANAGER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, BARNACLE GOOSE, KING EIDER, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, GLAUCOUS GULL, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, winter finches, Christmas Count results and more.

The immature MEW GULL was seen last Saturday at Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 but has not been reported since last weekend, when it became a first record for the Brooklyn Christmas Bird Count.

A LECONTE’S SPARROW was found last Sunday at Croton Point Park, a Westchester County first, and was seen wonderfully well atop the landfill on Sunday and Monday before disappearing Tuesday morning, while another was also noted last Saturday on the Staten Island Christmas Bird Count and reported again Wednesday.

A female type PAINTED BUNTING found last Friday on the road to Culloden Point stayed for the Montauk Christmas Bird Count Saturday but has not been seen since.

Several recent sightings of DOVEKIE off Eastern Long Island included singles at Montauk Point Saturday and Wednesday and off Camp Hero Thursday, at Shinnecock Inlet Saturday and Thursday and nearby Tiana Beach Thursday, and, most unusual, one captured in heavy brush and released into the water today at Cove Hollow in Georgica.

Major Christmas Bird Count highlights were a SEDGE WREN on the Captree Count Sunday and a WESTERN KINGBIRD flying by the Montauk Downs Golf Course Saturday.

The two Manhattan WESTERN TANAGERS were still present Thursday, one along West 22nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues and one at Carl Schurz Park at East 86th Street, east of East End Avenue.

Two BARNACLE GEESE continue in the Water Mill area, usually off Deerfield Road but yesterday along David White’s Lane southwest of there.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE has been visiting Randall’s Island from Sunday at least to yesterday.

A young male KING EIDER and an ICELAND GULL continue around Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4, and two KINGS were off Fort Tilden Wednesday.

A GLAUCOUS GULL was at Cedar Beach Marina Sunday, with another at Playland Park in Rye today, and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was on the beach at Smith Point County Park today.

A LAPLAND LONGSPUR visited Croton Point Park Wednesday, a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW also there last Sunday, and a YELLOW-BREASED CHAT was still at Ketcham’s Creek in Amityville Wednesday. Good numbers of RED CROSSBILLS were at Jones Beach West End late in the week.

The Brooklyn Christmas Bird Count Saturday recorded a very nice 137 species, highlights including new records of MEW GULL and VEERY as well as 5 KING EIDERS, 2 ICELAND GULLS, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, 7 COMMON REDPOLLS, 7 RED CROSSBILLS and OVENBIRD.

Among Montauk’s 129 species Saturday were 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, a drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, 6 RED-NECKED GREBES, DOVEKIE, 19 BALD EAGLES, 15 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, WESTERN KINGBIRD, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, WOOD THRUSH, EVENING GROSBEAK and PAINTED BUNTING.

Captree’s 128 species Sunday included 3 KING EIDERS, ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULLS, over 4,000 BONAPARTE’S GULLS, SEDGE WREN and 83 RED CROSSBILLS.

Queens netted 125 species Sunday with OSPREY, HOUSE WREN, 33 COMMON REDPOLLS, BALTIMORE ORIOLE and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH.

Greenwich - Stamford, including parts of Westchester County, netted 113 species Sunday, including 6 COMMON EIDER, 3 RAZORBILLS, GLAUCOUS GULL and 3 EASTERN PHOEBES.

The Northern Nassau Christmas Bird Count Saturday recorded 107 species with COMMON EIDER, ICELAND GULL, COMMON REDPOLL, and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, while ROCKLAND among its 82 species Sunday recorded 2 PURPLE SANDPIPERS and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.

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

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for Thursday, December 17, 2020:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec. 17, 2020
* NYNY2012.17


- Birds Mentioned

THICK-BILLED MURRE+
MEW GULL+
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
BARNACLE GOOSE
EURASIAN WIGEON
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
EARED GREBE
Razorbill
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Royal Tern
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Common Redpoll
RED CROSSBILL
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
Baltimore Oriole
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula

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 Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 9 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are MEW GULL, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, BARNACLE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, EURASIAN WIGEON, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, KING EIDER and HARLEQUIN DUCK, BLACK-HEADED and GLAUCOUS GULLS, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, THICK-BILLED MURRE, EARED GREBE, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, RED CROSSBILL and more.

Scanning through Gull flocks along the Brooklyn waterfront continues to be productive -searches for last week’s first winter MEW GULL produced a strongly marked adult MEW GULL Wednesday, the bird first spotted at Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 and then presumably the same bird a little later up at Bush Terminal Piers Park. And today, likely the immature from the prior week was noted again at Army Terminal Pier 4, this site also hosting an immature male KING EIDER since Tuesday and a continuing ICELAND GULL.

An ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER visited Jones Beach West End last Sunday, this also the last day the one in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery was seen. Sunday also provided a sighting of a WESTERN KINGBIRD in Green-Wood, but this individual quickly disappeared.

The WESTERN TANAGER continuing in Manhattan’s Chelsea section along West 22nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues through today was joined by another in Manhattan as of Tuesday up at Carl Schurz Park at East 86th Street, east of East End Avenue, this site also providing one or two BALTIMORE ORIOLES. As a note, another WESTERN TANAGER was seen back on December 6th near Big Reed Pond out in Montauk.

Two BARNACLE GEESE were still visiting fields along Deerfield Avenue in Water Mill last Saturday, when a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was also noted there. Another GREATER WHITE-FRONTED was still around Tung Ting Pond in Eastport last Sunday, and one still visits the Bowman Avenue Pond in Rye Brook, though often not for long.

Single drake EURASIAN WIGEON were noted Saturday at Grant Park in Hewlett and Wednesday on Mill Pond in Oyster Bay.

One or two drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYES were present Sunday off Crab Meadow Beach in Northport, and along with a few KING EIDERS remaining in the Fort Tilden - Riis Park area were three off Robert Moses State Park Wednesday.

A HARLEQUIN DUCK was spotted Wednesday flying by Montauk Point, that same day providing roughly a dozen BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, strong numbers of RAZORBILLS, and among them a reported THICK-BILLED MURRE.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL, presumably a returning bird, was around Setauket harbor as of Monday, a GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted on the bay side of Cupsogue County Park last Saturday, and two ICELAND GULLS were in the East River off Austin Nichols House last Saturday.

Some LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS included one on Prospect Park Lake Sunday, and a ROYAL TERN was still at Breezy Point Sunday.

An EARED GREBE remained on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at least to Sunday, when a RED-NECKED GREBE was still on Meadow Lake at Flushing Meadow - Corona Park. Other RED-NECKED GREBES continue off Brooklyn.

A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was present Monday and Tuesday at Ketcham’s Creek Freshwater Wetland in Amityville.

Small numbers of COMMON REDPOLLS continue to appear locally, while scattered RED CROSSBILLS peaked with forty at Jones Beach West End Tuesday, down to nine Wednesday.

With Christmas Counts starting this weekend, please call in Count results, which hopefully may contain a few of our lingering WARBLERS, including OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, TENNESSEE, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE or even NORTHERN PARULA.

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