New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending, Friday, March 17, 2023:

-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 17, 2023
* NYNY2303.17


- Birds Mentioned

MOTTLED DUCK+
SWAINSON'S HAWK+
WESTERN MEADOWLARK+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

EURASIAN WIGEON
EARED GREBE
Long-billed Dowitcher
Black-legged Kittiwake
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Egret
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
RED CROSSBILL
SUMMER TANAGER

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 17 at 11:00 p.m.

The highlights of today's tape are MOTTLED DUCK, SWAINSON’S HAWK, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, EARED GREBE, EURASIAN WIGEON, BLACK-HEADED GULL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, RED CROSSBILL, SUMMER TANAGER and more.

But first, another week with very sad news as our birding community has lost one of its most enthusiastic members, Arie Gilbert, to lung cancer. Arie’s active involvement regionally, including as an organizer and moderator for the Long Island birdfinders app, will unquestionably be missed. Funeral arrangements have been posted on the aba.org birding news for New York.

On the birding front, the drake MOTTLED DUCK has returned, spotted Wednesday afternoon on Avon Lake in Amityville, just a short distance west from the Ketchum Creek location where it was initially discovered back in April 2022. Look for the duck on Avon Lake from either East Lake Drive or West Lake Drive, but please remember this is a private residential neighborhood and act accordingly. As a note, the duck late this afternoon did fly a ways south but was relocated south of Route 27A on Amityville Creek as viewed from Riverside Avenue, also a private residential area.

In Brooklyn the immature SWAINSON'S HAWK remains around the Sims Waste Recovery Plant located at the end of 29th Street, west of 2nd Avenue, where it can often be found around the buildings and light structures as well as scrap piles in that vicinity.

And a little south of there the apparent WESTERN MEADOWLARK continues at Bush Terminal Piers Park, where the bird often remains hidden either in the vacant lot on the left as you walk into the park or along the shoreline, though it will periodically fly up into the bare trees for nice views. A female EURASIAN WIGEON was also reported at Bush Terminal Piers Park to last Sunday.

The EARED GREBE at Shirley Chisholm State Park was being seen through today in Hendrix Creek, usually off Hendrix Street (a walking path) out near Penn Pier.

Last Saturday an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted at Coney Island Creek, and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE plus an ICELAND GULL were reported off Montauk Point, with another ICELAND GULL Sunday at Conference House Park on Staten Island.

Four LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were seen during the week along the edge of the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, with another one or two still present last weekend at Smith Pond in Rockville Centre.

Also lingering, an AMERICAN BITTERN was still along Dune Road in Quogue last Sunday, and the immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues in Marine Park in Brooklyn, often in the Stuart Street and Avenue T area.

About five RED CROSSBILLS were still along the Paumanok Trail near Jones Pond last Sunday, this area off Schultz Road in Manorville, and, as a note of interest, an overwintering SUMMER TANAGER was still visiting a private Islip feeder Thursday.

GREAT EGRETS and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS are now among the slowly increasing number of seasonal migrants moving into our area, replacing the large numbers of waterfowl heading north.

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