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