[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 18 March 2011

[Ben Cacace]

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 18, 2011
* NYNY1103.18

- Birds mentioned

VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Green-winged Teal (Eurasian form)
KING EIDER
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Northern Gannet
Great Egret
Osprey
Rough-legged Hawk
Wilson's Snipe
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
BLACK GUILLEMOT
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Pine Warbler
Rusty Blackbird

- 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
nysa...@nybirds.org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or
sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY  14428

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
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 18th 2011
at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are BLACK GUILLEMOT, VARIED THRUSH,
ROSS'S GOOSE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING
EIDER, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and Spring migrants.

As we await, perhaps somewhat impatiently the influx of numbers of Spring
migrants, there are some good Winter rarities still showing up.

Off Montauk Point last Sunday a Winter plumaged BLACK GUILLEMOT was spotted
in flight well off the point but disappeared once it settled on the water
among the many scoters and Common Eider. Seven RAZORBILLS were also counted
and NORTHERN GANNET numbers are on the increase. Two OSPREYS also appeared
at the point and this species is now arriving at many locations. Another
RAZORBILL was off Ditch Plains Sunday and a drake KING EIDER moved east past
Main Beach in East Hampton with 6 Common Eider. On Saturday an EARED GREBE
was reported off Main Beach and we might note that now, with Horned Grebes
all molting and often closely resembling Eared Grebe in plumage an
identification should be done primarily on a structural rather than plumage
basis to separate these two.

Also out east the adult ROSS'S GOOSE was still present Sunday in a Canada
flock off Cook's Lane north of Watermill and west of Scuttlehole Road and
the drake Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen again on Short's Pond
on the west side of Scuttlehole Road just past Cook's Lane.

A CACKLING GOOSE was on Eastport Pond on Sunday and a drake EURASIAN WIGEON
appeared in the marsh at Cupsogue County Park on Saturday.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted last Saturday initially roosting on
the beach at Riis Park before flying offshore to feed but it could not be
found there on Sunday when immature ICELAND GULL and adult LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL were just west of the Fisherman's parking lot at the west
end of Fort Tilden.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still present Saturday at Jamaica Bay
Wildlife Refuge in the bay west of the West Pond.

The VARIED THRUSH was seen today in Central Park back at its previously
favored site east of the Rambles shed at the maintenance area south of the
79th Street transverse but it has also been seen east of there and is moving
around quite a bit. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER also continues south
of the Sheep Meadow around the 66th Street transverse. Other species seen
recently in Central and in other local parks have included EASTERN PHOEBE,
TREE SWALLOW, PINE WARBLER and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. GREAT EGRETS have also been
along the coast. In Brooklyn single COMMON RAVENS were noted Friday at Floyd
Bennett Field and over at Coney Island Creek Park. A WILSON'S SNIPE was in
Prospect Park Monday with PINE WARBLER there the day before.

On the north fork of Long Island the immature GLAUCOUS GULL was still around
the Orient Point ferry terminals recently and an ICELAND GULL visited
Marratooka Lake in Matituck on Tuesday.

Two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were still at the Grumman grasslands in Calverton
Wednesday.

Last Monday 3 RED-NECKED GREBES and 14 NORTHERN GANNETS were off Playland
Park in Rye Westchester County.

For information on the pelagic trip running out of Freeport Long Island on
March 27th call See Life Paulagics at (215) 234-6805 or visit their website
at http://www.paulagics.com

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or
during the day except Sundays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the
National 

[nysbirds-l] Brooklyn: 3/18-Diurnal Migration, Common Ravens. Also Thayer's Gull redux from last week.

[fresha2411]

 I did a roving hawkwatch at Greenwood Cemetery today, jumping between several 
locations within the cemetery to see which was best in the SW winds.
While there was a moderate diurnal migration involving a few species, it wasn't 
particularly heavy, and the winds had shifted to north of west by noon.
My composite results of migrants were:
Canada Goose-260, Double-crested Cormorant-15, Great Blue Heron-1, Osprey-1, 
Turkey Vulture- 11, Red-tailed Hawk- 1 (6 additional local birds though), 
Cooper's Hawk- 2. 
I also saw 12 different flocks of balloons on this balmy day, unfortunately.

At Coney Island Creek Park, there was a single Eastern Phoebe, and 2 Great 
Egrets flew by, as did an extremely ratty Common Raven. This individual had 
really chopped up wings, and it was difficult for me to judge whether it was 
missing feathers, had broken feathers, or some combination of the two. The 
Raven flew north across Coney Island Creek and disappeared behind some 
apartment buildings somewhere north of the Belt Parkway. This bird is certainly 
distinctive, and can be differentiated from other Ravens in the area rather 
easily for the time being I should think.

At Floyd Bennett Field I ran across another Common Raven getting assaulted by 
~10 American Crows that escorted it out over Dead Horse Bay to the west. This 
was clearly a different individual than the previous bird because, aside from 
the disparate locations, this bird appeared to be only missing one secondary, 
and looked to be in much better shape than the Coney Island bird. There was 
also a Chipping Sparrow at the Cricket Field.




As for the Gull that Shane Blodgett and I encountered at Floyd Bennett Field 
last week, all opinions that I've gotten from various people very familiar with 
Thayer's Gull have rather strongly backed up our initial tentative 
identification of Thayer's Gull. Since the post to this listserv did not have 
many public responses, especially regarding this individual specifically, I 
think it would be appropriate to recap some of the comments I recieved 
off-list, notably those that deal with any lingering concerns about it being a 
Thayer's Gull.
The only concerns brought up were slightly paler mantle color, the amount of 
black in the primaries being on the dark end of the Thayer's spectrum, no black 
apparent on P5, and the brightish bill coloration.

The amount of black on P5 and the pattern of the upperside of the primaries 
matches several Thayer's Gull depictions from these sources: the link provided 
by Kevin McGowan previously on this listserv, photos of Thayer's Gulls from 
Duluth, MN:
http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/thgu
http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/adult_thayers_gull_primary_patterns
http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/thguadults
and renderings of the Iceland/Kumline's/Thayer's cline on BNA sent to me kindly 
by Ron Pittaway.

The mantle color was termed a non-issue by several people familiar with THGU, 
because it can be as light as to overlap with Kumlien's Gull, let alone Herring 
Gull. Ron Pittaway was also kind enough to demonstrate this by pointing out a 
study made on 80 adult breeding specimens in the Canadian Museum of Nature that 
showed an overlap between Thayer's and Kumlien's Gull.

Bill color and intensity varies by season and individual, and while most 
Thayer's Gulls in basic plumage right now may have duller bills than this bird, 
this was presumably a migrant making its way to breeding plumage, although not 
having undergone its full head molt. Most respondents don't see this as much of 
an issue

Every person that I got a response from was agreeable with the ID of Thayer's 
Gull, with the least favorable response being: "This looks pretty good to me." 
Other responses said that it would be called a Thayer's Gull if it were seen in 
Ontario, Illinois, California, Niagara and on Lake Ontario and Superior. Shane 
and I both concur strongly that it is a Thayer's Gull as well.

*
*

Also of note from Brooklyn, on the morning of 3/16 (Wednesday) during the 
really wet/overcast/windy weather, there were 51 Bonaparte's Gulls sitting on 
the beach at Coney Island Creek Park, and I estimated my highest number of 
Long-tailed Ducks ever from Coney Island Pier: 6,000-8,000. This may be a 
decent representation of how many there are normally well offshore here during 
the winter, but I'm assuming their numbers have swelled as they stage for 
migration (Didn't check today, many could well have departed since). Either 
way, the fog just happened to bring them in closer to shore than usual. There 
was also a good movement of Northern Gannets, with at least 34 counted (and 
definitely undercounted since my attention was mostly on the LTDUs) most moving 
by in groups of 2-5 individuals.

Good Birding
-Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY.


 



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[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 3/12-18 (V. Thrush, Red-headed WP, Pine Warbler, E. Meadowlark, etc.)

[Tom Fiore]

VARIED THRUSH continued... (several locations: only into Thursday; now  
gone?)

Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City  -  Sat., 12 March thru Friday, 18  
March, 2011

The first-year RED-HEADED WOODPECKER does continue in the area just  
south of Sheep Meadow, and near the 66 Street transverse around the  
section by the Carousel (merry-go-round). The woodpecker, beginning to  
show more red but still far from a bright adult plumage, has wandered  
around the area described and with milder weather, may be a bit more  
active than it was much of the winter.  it could stay around for weeks  
longer.

Friday, 3/18 - Although a lot of migration appeared to have taken  
place Thursday night, there was relatively little evidence for it in  
Central Park Friday morning... a one-hour search for the Varied Thrush  
did NOT reveal it this morning although that hardly means it has moved  
on.  Still, it is just as likely to have, and if there are no further  
sightings, I would assume that  it did.

At least 2 PINE WARBLERS were present in the park - in the Ramble as  
well as in the north end on the Great Hill. Other migrants that had  
modest (or very modest) increases today included Eastern Phoebe (with  
8+ thru the entire park), Golden-crowned Kinglet (also 8+), American  
Robin (500+), Field Sparrow (several), "red" Fox Sparrow (20+), Song  
Sparrow (100+, including a single dense flock of 40+ in the wildflower  
meadow area in the a.m.), and Slate-colored Junco (100+), plus fly- 
through flocks of Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown- 
headed Cowbird totaling over 1,000: the majority of these grackles.  A  
lot of birds had clearly gone thru overnight with the clear skies and  
SW wind; a very good indicator of the night flight were some of the  
straggler flocks that were seen in the northern-most end of the park,  
some of which were continuing their migration into the mid-morning,  
such as blackbirds & to a lesser extent, American Robins.  A few  
Hermit Thrush were in areas where I had not seen them recently, and  
these could be extra-early movers, or simply "locals", among a small  
number that wintered here and/or very nearby. The reservoir had about  
the same variety and numbers as it had for the past several days;  
waterfowl are still fairly low, and gulls are not as numerous as they  
could be.

-  -  -  -  -  -
Thursday 3/17 - (St. Patrick's Day) - In an early-morning search, the  
VARIED THRUSH was still present, on Cedar Hill's slope, about 200+  
feet south of the E. 79 Street transverse road and at least 80 feet  
east of the park's E. Drive.  Nearby were many American Robins as well  
as Slate-colored Juncos and a mix of other common wintering &/or  
resident species.  The thrush was working in conifers a bit but mainly  
on the ground near the trees.  Will this be the last day for this  
visitor - or might it stay a while longer? As days lengthen and  
migration picks up it's increasingly likely to move on.
- - - - - -

Wednesday 3/16 - after rain ended mid-morning, I sought and found the  
VARIED THRUSH again - it was in an area where it's been on occasion in  
the past 3 & 1/2 months: at the shrubby south side of Cleopatra's  
Needle, the very tall stone obelisk that is a bit east of the SE  
section of the Great Lawn. It was, as it often has been, in proximity  
with a male E. Towhee and a fair number of White-throated Sparrows,  
and various other wintering &/or resident birds.  It took me a bit  
more than an hour of searching to find the thrush; I'd mainly looked  
for it in the areas it had been more regularly seen.

At the north end, late in the day, a bright male PINE WARBLER made a  
cheering appearance with sun also re-emerging. The warbler was working  
in trees at the northeast part of the Great Hill, and near the west  
drive.

It seemed that a modest number of birds had come in despite the  
weather - or because of it? - on Wednesday, the most apparent being  
some 200+ Brown-headed Cowbirds mucking around on the western parts of  
the N. Meadow ballfields - along with those numbers was at least one  
E. MEADOWLARK.  I did not see the meadowlark again late in the day.   
At the ramble's feeders as the rain was almost ending, were quite a  
swarm of American Goldfinch with at least one male Purple Finch (along  
with multiple House Finches).  This was the first Purple I'd seen in  
some time here. Also scattered about the entire park were hundreds  
more American Robins than had been up 'til this day.  The reservoir  
was not so notable for any arrivals, beyond a couple of Double-crested  
Cormorants... Pied-billed Grebe, N. Shovelers, and some additional  
ducks were lingering.
-  -  -  -

Monday - a mixed bag but there were again a few migrants that either  
just arrived or were noticed, including 6 sparrow spp., Swamp, Field,  
Savannah, Song, Fox, and by far the most common wintering sparrow,  
White-throated.  A goodly number of icterids also went thru, with at  

[nysbirds-l] Osprey and Oyster Catchers at Cupsgue Beach

[Arthur H. Kopelman, Ph.D.]

While taking a school group to observe seals at Cupsogue Beach County Park
(Westhampton Beach) I observed 2 ospreys at the platform near the western
end of the parking lot; and two American Oyster Catchers were seen on the
rocks at the base of the cliff near the seal haulout.

 

125 seals were sighted as well.  If you go there to see the Oyster Catchers
and/or seals, please try to stay up on the cliff and not down near the
water, to avoid disturbing the seals.

 

Artie

 


Arthur H. Kopelman, Ph. D.
President,

Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island
presid...@cresli.org  
  www.cresli.org
631-244-3352

( e-mails scanned for viruses before sending)

 

 

 

 

"When the last individual of a race of living thing breathes no more,

another heaven and another earth

must pass before such a one can be again" ..  William Beebee

 

P Be kind to the environment - unless you need to, please don't print this
e-mail

 

 


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[nysbirds-l] Hudson-Mohawk Birdline for 16 March

[David Martin]

This is a summary of the Hudson-Mohawk Birdline reports for the week 
ending  16 March 2011.
Report your sightings in New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region to 
birdl...@hmbc.net

Eighty-three species were reported this week including 25 waterfowl 
species.  The most-reported species include Red-winged Blackbird (9 
reports), Common Grackle (9), Killdeer (8), Common Redpoll (7), Eastern 
Bluebird (7) and Turkey Vulture (6).


Best birds were:

TUNDRA SWAN: Fort Miller 3/9, 3/12; Schuylerville 3/12, Germantown 3/13 (3).

REDHEAD: Fort Miller 3/12 (3); Germantown 3/15.

CANVASBACK: Fort Miller 3/12 (3); Germantown 3/13 (~250), 3/15 (150).

BARROW'S GOLDENEYE: Fort Miller 3/12.

HORNED GREBE: Chatham 3/15.

GREAT CORMORANT: Germantown 3/13 (2), 3/15.

BLACK VULTURE: Five Rivers 3/12; Brunswick 3/14, 3/15.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK:Stillwater 3/13.

ICELAND GULL: Crescent 3/13.

GLAUCOUS GULL:Crescent 3/13.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD: Vischer Ferry 3/14 (10+).

HOARY REDPOLL (probable): Saratoga 3/15.


Other notables:

Snow Goose: Five Rivers 3/12 (~900); Kiskatom 3/13 (5); Brunswick 3/13 
(~40).

Mute Swan: Germantown 3/13 (2).

Gadwall: Crescent 3/13 (7); 4 Mile Point 3/15.

American Widgeon: Ferry Drive 3/13 (2); Claverack 3/15 (25); Germantown 
3/15 (4).

Northern Pintail: Fort Miller 3/12 (4);Ferry Drive 3/13 (8), Claverack 
3/15 (18).

Greater Scaup: Fort Miller 3/12 (2); Germantown 3/15.

Lesser Scaup: Cheviot 3/13 (20+); Germantown 3/15 (10).

Pied-billed Grebe: 4 Mile Point 3/15.

Double-Crested Cormorant: Schuylerville 3/12.

Bald Eagle: Cohoes Fall 3/12; Germantown 3/13 (4), 3/15 (4); Brunswick 
3/15.

Northern Harrier: Germantown 3/13 (3); Coxsackie 3/15.

Rough-legged Hawk: Kiskatom 3/13.

American Kestrel: Burnt Hills 3/12; Germantown 3/13; Coxsackie 3/15 (2).

Peregrine Falcon: Rip van Winkle Bridge 3/15.

American Woodcock: Austerlitz 3/11 (2); Vischer Ferry 3/12; Germantown 
3/13 (5); Claverack 3/14; Coxsackie 3/15.

Great Horned Owl:Vischer Ferry 3/12.

Fish Crow: Germantown 3/15 (2).

Common Raven: : Austerlitz 3/11.

Horned Lark: Fort Edward 3/13 (8).

Tree Swallow: Ferry Drive 3/13 (2).

White-crowned Sparrow: Brunswick 3/13, 3/16.

Purple Finch: Austerlitz 3/11, 3/13; Germantown 3/13; Glenville 3/14.

Pine Siskin: Stillwater 3/13 (2).

Thanks to Phil Whitney (Birdline compiler), Steve Abrahamsen (Saratoga, 
Stafford Bridge 3/13), Michael Batcher (Stillwater 3/13, Greenwich), 
Mona Bearor (Schyuylerville, South Glens Falls), Alan Dupuis (Fort 
Miller 3/12), Larry Federman (Kiskatom), Alan French (Glenville), 
Elisabeth Grace (Old Chatham), Rich Guthrie (Rip van Winkle Bridge, 
Germantown), Ken Harper (Fort Miller 3/9), John Hershey (Fort Miller 
3/12, Stafford Bridge 3/12, Vischer Ferry 3/12, Crescent, Ferry Drive), 
Nancy Kern (Austerlitz, Germantown, Claverack, Chatham), Curt Morgan 
(Colonie), Ellen Pemrick (Fort Edward, Colonie), Will Raup (4 Mile 
Point, Coxsackie), Sue Stewart (Burnt Hills),Brad Walker (Brunswick), 
Tom Williams (Five Rivers, Vischer Ferry 3/14), Chad Witko (Ghent, 
Claverack) and anonymous (Cohoes Falls, Averill Park).


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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[nysbirds-l] Hudson-Mohawk Birdline for 16 March

[David Martin]

This is a summary of the Hudson-Mohawk Birdline reports for the week 
ending  16 March 2011.
Report your sightings in New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region to 
birdl...@hmbc.net

Eighty-three species were reported this week including 25 waterfowl 
species.  The most-reported species include Red-winged Blackbird (9 
reports), Common Grackle (9), Killdeer (8), Common Redpoll (7), Eastern 
Bluebird (7) and Turkey Vulture (6).


Best birds were:

TUNDRA SWAN: Fort Miller 3/9, 3/12; Schuylerville 3/12, Germantown 3/13 (3).

REDHEAD: Fort Miller 3/12 (3); Germantown 3/15.

CANVASBACK: Fort Miller 3/12 (3); Germantown 3/13 (~250), 3/15 (150).

BARROW'S GOLDENEYE: Fort Miller 3/12.

HORNED GREBE: Chatham 3/15.

GREAT CORMORANT: Germantown 3/13 (2), 3/15.

BLACK VULTURE: Five Rivers 3/12; Brunswick 3/14, 3/15.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK:Stillwater 3/13.

ICELAND GULL: Crescent 3/13.

GLAUCOUS GULL:Crescent 3/13.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD: Vischer Ferry 3/14 (10+).

HOARY REDPOLL (probable): Saratoga 3/15.


Other notables:

Snow Goose: Five Rivers 3/12 (~900); Kiskatom 3/13 (5); Brunswick 3/13 
(~40).

Mute Swan: Germantown 3/13 (2).

Gadwall: Crescent 3/13 (7); 4 Mile Point 3/15.

American Widgeon: Ferry Drive 3/13 (2); Claverack 3/15 (25); Germantown 
3/15 (4).

Northern Pintail: Fort Miller 3/12 (4);Ferry Drive 3/13 (8), Claverack 
3/15 (18).

Greater Scaup: Fort Miller 3/12 (2); Germantown 3/15.

Lesser Scaup: Cheviot 3/13 (20+); Germantown 3/15 (10).

Pied-billed Grebe: 4 Mile Point 3/15.

Double-Crested Cormorant: Schuylerville 3/12.

Bald Eagle: Cohoes Fall 3/12; Germantown 3/13 (4), 3/15 (4); Brunswick 
3/15.

Northern Harrier: Germantown 3/13 (3); Coxsackie 3/15.

Rough-legged Hawk: Kiskatom 3/13.

American Kestrel: Burnt Hills 3/12; Germantown 3/13; Coxsackie 3/15 (2).

Peregrine Falcon: Rip van Winkle Bridge 3/15.

American Woodcock: Austerlitz 3/11 (2); Vischer Ferry 3/12; Germantown 
3/13 (5); Claverack 3/14; Coxsackie 3/15.

Great Horned Owl:Vischer Ferry 3/12.

Fish Crow: Germantown 3/15 (2).

Common Raven: : Austerlitz 3/11.

Horned Lark: Fort Edward 3/13 (8).

Tree Swallow: Ferry Drive 3/13 (2).

White-crowned Sparrow: Brunswick 3/13, 3/16.

Purple Finch: Austerlitz 3/11, 3/13; Germantown 3/13; Glenville 3/14.

Pine Siskin: Stillwater 3/13 (2).

Thanks to Phil Whitney (Birdline compiler), Steve Abrahamsen (Saratoga, 
Stafford Bridge 3/13), Michael Batcher (Stillwater 3/13, Greenwich), 
Mona Bearor (Schyuylerville, South Glens Falls), Alan Dupuis (Fort 
Miller 3/12), Larry Federman (Kiskatom), Alan French (Glenville), 
Elisabeth Grace (Old Chatham), Rich Guthrie (Rip van Winkle Bridge, 
Germantown), Ken Harper (Fort Miller 3/9), John Hershey (Fort Miller 
3/12, Stafford Bridge 3/12, Vischer Ferry 3/12, Crescent, Ferry Drive), 
Nancy Kern (Austerlitz, Germantown, Claverack, Chatham), Curt Morgan 
(Colonie), Ellen Pemrick (Fort Edward, Colonie), Will Raup (4 Mile 
Point, Coxsackie), Sue Stewart (Burnt Hills),Brad Walker (Brunswick), 
Tom Williams (Five Rivers, Vischer Ferry 3/14), Chad Witko (Ghent, 
Claverack) and anonymous (Cohoes Falls, Averill Park).


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[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 18 March 2011

[Ben Cacace]

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Mar. 18, 2011
* NYNY1103.18

- Birds mentioned

VARIED THRUSH+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Green-winged Teal (Eurasian form)
KING EIDER
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Northern Gannet
Great Egret
Osprey
Rough-legged Hawk
Wilson's Snipe
BLACK-HEADED GULL
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Razorbill
BLACK GUILLEMOT
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Eastern Phoebe
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Pine Warbler
Rusty Blackbird

- 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
nysa...@nybirds.org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or
sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Jeanne Skelly - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
420 Chili-Scottsville Rd.
Churchville, NY  14428

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

To report sightings call:
Tom Burke (212) 372-1483 (weekdays, during the day)
Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 (Long Island)

Compiler: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
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 18th 2011
at 8pm. The highlights of today's tape are BLACK GUILLEMOT, VARIED THRUSH,
ROSS'S GOOSE, BLACK-HEADED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, KING
EIDER, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and Spring migrants.

As we await, perhaps somewhat impatiently the influx of numbers of Spring
migrants, there are some good Winter rarities still showing up.

Off Montauk Point last Sunday a Winter plumaged BLACK GUILLEMOT was spotted
in flight well off the point but disappeared once it settled on the water
among the many scoters and Common Eider. Seven RAZORBILLS were also counted
and NORTHERN GANNET numbers are on the increase. Two OSPREYS also appeared
at the point and this species is now arriving at many locations. Another
RAZORBILL was off Ditch Plains Sunday and a drake KING EIDER moved east past
Main Beach in East Hampton with 6 Common Eider. On Saturday an EARED GREBE
was reported off Main Beach and we might note that now, with Horned Grebes
all molting and often closely resembling Eared Grebe in plumage an
identification should be done primarily on a structural rather than plumage
basis to separate these two.

Also out east the adult ROSS'S GOOSE was still present Sunday in a Canada
flock off Cook's Lane north of Watermill and west of Scuttlehole Road and
the drake Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen again on Short's Pond
on the west side of Scuttlehole Road just past Cook's Lane.

A CACKLING GOOSE was on Eastport Pond on Sunday and a drake EURASIAN WIGEON
appeared in the marsh at Cupsogue County Park on Saturday.

An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted last Saturday initially roosting on
the beach at Riis Park before flying offshore to feed but it could not be
found there on Sunday when immature ICELAND GULL and adult LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL were just west of the Fisherman's parking lot at the west
end of Fort Tilden.

The drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was still present Saturday at Jamaica Bay
Wildlife Refuge in the bay west of the West Pond.

The VARIED THRUSH was seen today in Central Park back at its previously
favored site east of the Rambles shed at the maintenance area south of the
79th Street transverse but it has also been seen east of there and is moving
around quite a bit. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER also continues south
of the Sheep Meadow around the 66th Street transverse. Other species seen
recently in Central and in other local parks have included EASTERN PHOEBE,
TREE SWALLOW, PINE WARBLER and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. GREAT EGRETS have also been
along the coast. In Brooklyn single COMMON RAVENS were noted Friday at Floyd
Bennett Field and over at Coney Island Creek Park. A WILSON'S SNIPE was in
Prospect Park Monday with PINE WARBLER there the day before.

On the north fork of Long Island the immature GLAUCOUS GULL was still around
the Orient Point ferry terminals recently and an ICELAND GULL visited
Marratooka Lake in Matituck on Tuesday.

Two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were still at the Grumman grasslands in Calverton
Wednesday.

Last Monday 3 RED-NECKED GREBES and 14 NORTHERN GANNETS were off Playland
Park in Rye Westchester County.

For information on the pelagic trip running out of Freeport Long Island on
March 27th call See Life Paulagics at (215) 234-6805 or visit their website
at http://www.paulagics.com

To phone in reports on Long Island, call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or
during the day except Sundays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the
National