New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 15, 2021:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jan. 15, 2021
* NYNY2101.15


- Birds Mentioned

SPOTTED TOWHEE+
WESTERN TANAGER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Canada Goose
Blue-winged Teal
EURASIAN WIGEON
KING EIDER
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Common Goldeneye
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Common Gallinule
DOVEKIE
Razorbill
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Black Skimmer
American Bittern
COMMON REDPOLL
RED CROSSBILL
Tennessee Warbler
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, January
15, 2021 at 10:00 pm.

The highlights of today’s tape are SPOTTED TOWHEE, WESTERN TANAGER, DOVEKIE, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, EURASIAN WIGEON, HARLEQUIN DUCK, KING EIDER and BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE and GLAUCOUS GULL, RED CROSSBILL, COMMON REDPOLL and more.

The female SPOTTED TOWHEE, continuing in Baldwin Harbor Park through today, remains quite elusive and is more often heard than seen; it is still frequenting the large thicket area east of the ballfields and first main parking lot accessed from Grand Avenue, this thicket also bordered by a second parking lot on its south side and bisected by a paved walking path. The TOWHEE seems to appear randomly anywhere along the thicket edges, and listening for its harsh calls, infrequently given, can pay off.

The two Manhattan WESTERN TANAGERS have both become more difficult to find as they wander farther afield to find food. The one at Carl Schurz Park at East End Avenue and 86th Street was seen yesterday, while the Chelsea individual, noted at least to Tuesday, has recently ranged a little north of its usual haunts along West 22nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.

Along the Atlantic coast this week’s weather has produced a small incursion of DOVEKIES, with 2 off Montauk Point Tuesday and 3 more Thursday, 1 flying ashore at Robert Moses State Park Tuesday followed by 3 offshore there today, 1 swimming in Fort Pond Bay in Montauk yesterday, and 3 off Jones Beach West End as well as 1 at Shinnecock Inlet today. Good numbers of RAZORBILLS have also been noted, including 160 off Montauk Point and 65 off Jones Beach yesterday, followed today by counts of 56 at Moses Park and 42 at Jones Beach West End.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE again at Randall’s Island Tuesday is likely the one paying a very welcome visit to Central Park yesterday and today, appearing at several sites with a flock of CANADA GEESE, including on the Lake, the Reservoir, the Pool and the North Meadow. One WHITE-FRONTED Tuesday in Dix Hills increased to 3 Wednesday near the intersection of Melrose Road and Wolf Hill Road, with one also at Tung Ting Pond in Centerport Wednesday.

EURASIAN WIGEON this week were present all week on Mill Pond off Lake Avenue in Oyster Bay and on Fresh Pond in Fort Salonga, with one also on West Lake in Patchogue Tuesday.

Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS continue around the Jones Inlet jetties on either the Point Lookout or Jones Beach side, with 2 also at Shinnecock Inlet recently and a drake at Orient Point Sunday.

A young male KING EIDER continues at Shinnecock Inlet, and a drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE remains with the COMMON GOLDENEYE flock off Crab Meadow Beach in Fort Salonga.

A BLACK-HEADED GULL continues to visit Jones Beach West End, with another spotted in Sheepshead Bay Saturday, and eight BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES appeared off Montauk Point yesterday.

Both ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULLS have been noted along the Brooklyn waterfront this week, and 2 ICELANDS visited Central Park Reservoir Wednesday.

One or 2 RED-NECKED GREBES remain in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, and 3 were on Fort Pond Bay Thursday.

Also, a BLACK SKIMMER was at Coney Island Creek Tuesday, single female BLUE-WINGED TEAL and adult COMMON GALLINULE remain on Mill Pond in Baldwin, and AMERICAN BITTERN continues along Dune Road.

A few COMMON REDPOLLS continue to pop up at various locations, and RED CROSSBILLS today included 14 at Jones Beach West End and 11 at Heckscher State Park.

A couple of TENNESSEE WARBLERS were seen this week, and Carl Schurz Park has been hosting an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.

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