New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 31, 2023:

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 31, 2023
* NYNY2303.31

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

HARLEQUIN DUCK
ICELAND GULL
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Northern Gannet
American Bittern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Marsh Wren
Brown Thrasher
FOX SPARROW ("Sooty" subspecies)
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Orange-crowned Warbler

- Transcript

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 nysarc44 (at)nybirds{dot}org.

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: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for *Friday, March 31st 2023* at 11pm. The highlights of today's tape are MOTTLED DUCK, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, SWAINSON'S HAWK, "SOOTY" FOX SPARROW, HARLEQUIN DUCK, ICELAND GULL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, early spring migrants and more.

As the March doldrums slowly show more signs of coming to an end with new migrants trickling in, some lingering rarities continue to provide most of our highlights.

A drake MOTTLED DUCK continues in Amityville where it is usually seen around the southern end of Avon Lake best viewed from East Lake Drive.

In Brooklyn the apparent WESTERN MEADOWLARK has been reported through today at Bush Terminal Piers Park. The parking lot for the park is reached at the end of 43rd Street west of 1st Avenue. The MEADOWLARK often remains hidden in the fenced in vacant lot on the left side of the walkway as you enter the park but does perch in surrounding trees and flies over to the shoreline vegetation along the cove on the right side of the walkway. Please do not try to enter the vacant lot or leave the path along the shoreline.

The immature SWAINSON'S HAWK that had been frequenting the Sims Waste Recovery Plant a little north of the MEADOWLARK site has not been reported since last Sunday but could still be around. Look for it around the buildings, light fixtures and scrap piles inside the fenced-in facility at the end of 29th Street just west of 2nd Avenue.

The "Sooty" type FOX SPARROW was still present today in Brooklyn Bridge Park, usually spotted in the denser vegetation around the southwest corner of the Pier 3 lawn.

With much of our wintering waterfowl on its way north there still were 5 HARLEQUIN DUCKS along the jetty at Jones Beach West End on Monday.

NORTHERN GANNETS are also moving through and nice gatherings have been seen along Long Island's south shore and also up in Gardiners Bay with a small number even making it well into western Long Island Sound.

An adult ICELAND GULL noted Monday off the Austin Nichols House in Brooklyn was followed by an immature off Governors Island Tuesday while the low numbers of LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS regionally should soon see a notable influx along the coast.

An AMERICAN BITTERN was present around Duck Island at Prospect Park Lake today and the immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues in Brooklyn's Marine Park near the intersection of Stewart Street and Avenue T.

Among a few overwintering ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS are two still at Randall's Island Sunday and the NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was still present at Brooklyn Bridge Park Tuesday.

For arrivals CASPIAN TERN was present along the Hudson River this week while passerines featured PURPLE MARTIN, BARN and CLIFF SWALLOWS, MARSH WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BROWN THRASHER and the first LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH found on Wednesday at Bayard Cutting Arboretum.

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