[nysbirds-l] Little Gull - Riis park

[Isaac Grant]

There are  a steady stream of Bonapartes gulls moving west off of Riis. Had 1 
adult Little Gull mixed in with them. 

Isaac Grant
Senior Loan Officer
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[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 6 December 2013

[Karen Fung]

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Dec 06, 2013
* NYNY1312.06

- Birds Mentioned:

PACIFIC LOON+
GREAT SKUA+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
TUNDRA SWAN
Eurasian Wigeon
KING EIDER
Harlequin Duck
Red-throated Loon
Red-necked Grebe
NORTHERN FULMAR
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Northern Gannet
Golden Eagle
Piping Plover
RED PHALAROPE
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GLAUCOUS GULL
Black-legged Kittiwake
Razorbill
Barn Owl
SNOWY OWL
Red-headed Woodpecker
WESTERN KINGBIRD
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Orange-crowned Warbler
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lapland Longspur

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:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

~ Transcript ~

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

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

Compilers: Tom Burke, Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber/Editor: Karen Fung

[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]

Greetings.  This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, December
6th, at 6:00pm.  The highlights of today's tape are Pelagic Trip,
featuring GREAT SKUA, NORTHERN FULMAR, RED PHALAROPE and more; the
SNOWY OWL irruption; PACIFIC LOON, NORTHERN SHRIKE, WESTERN KINGBIRD,
TUNDRA SWAN, KING EIDER, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, GLAUCOUS GULL
and more.

The SNOWY OWL irruption continues, with possibly unprecedented numbers
of mostly immature bird occurring mainly along the South Shore of Long
Island, with multiples present at such locations as Jones Beach West
End, and Dune Road west of Shinnecock Inlet.  Snowies have also been
seen regularly in inland counties and away from the coastal shore at
sites like Floyd Bennett Field; however, the birds at Jones Beach West
End for instance have been subjected to continued harassment, and we
can only ask again that people observe owls from a comfortable
distance and do not disturb them.  Some owls inland have already been
found to be emaciated and have even died from starvation, indicating
the great stress for survival that they are already under, so please
keep your distance and do not add to their stress.

A pelagic trip on a private fishing boat on flat seas last Monday got
out to the continental shelf and enjoyed great views of a couple of
GREAT SKUAS along with 14 NORTHERN FULMARS, 6 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 13
GREAT SHEARWATERS, and 2 each of SOOTY SHEARWATERS and MANX
SHEARWATERS, 65 NORTHERN GANNETS, 4 RED PHALAROPES, 2 RAZORBILLS, 24
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 1 ICELAND GULL, and 5 LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULLS.

A PACIFIC LOON was reported Sunday in Huntington Bay off Hobart's
Beach on Eaton's Neck.  Seen briefly, the bird flew off and has not
been relocated. [Addition from the Transcriber: There was a late
report this afternoon of a PACIFIC LOON, seen on Plum Island while
scoping Common and Red-throated Loons for a loon count].

A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen frequently at Jones Beach West End field 2
from last Friday at least to Tuesday, often teeing up on trees and
bushes around the parking lot, but also wandering off to locations
such as the fisherman's parking lot west of the Coast Guard Station,
or trees to the northwest or southwest of lot 2.

A WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen again Monday on the North Fork in
Cutchogue, just north of Oregon Road and east of Cox's Lane.  Also out
east, two TUNDRA SWANS appeared on Hook Pond last Friday and were
still there at least to Tuesday.

Five GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were on a traditional field on the
north side of Further Lane in East Hampton Wednesday, and another was
spotted Sunday at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, where a GOLDEN
EAGLE was a flyover on Saturday.

An immature GLAUCOUS GULL and a young male HARLEQUIN DUCK were at
Shinnecock Inlet last Friday, and a careful scan through the large
scoter and eider flock below the bluffs at the Camp Hero overlook at
Montauk Point State Park last Saturday produced a young male and two
female KING EIDERS.

An immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was on the North Fork at Southold
Town Beach on November 28th.

A LARK SPARROW was still around the berm, just east of the cricket
field at Floyd Bennett Field on Thursday, and CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS
were noted at Hendrix Creek in Brooklyn last Friday and in East
Hampton Sunday.

Single LAPLAND LONGSPURS were at Van Cortlandt Park to [last] Saturday
and at Floyd Bennett Field [last] Saturday.

Male and female EURASIAN WIGEON are occasionally being seen on the
Eas

[nysbirds-l] TUNDRA SWANS ++ @ Hook Pond East Hampton..

[Andrew Baksh]

The 2 TUNDRA SWANS continue on Hook Pond.  In addition Eric Miller and
I found a drake EURASIAN WIGEON in eclipse plumage also on the pond.

We also dug out a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT from its warm patch located
near the 4 wheel drive dirt trail area (southern shore) where we were
viewing the Tundra Swans.

"Don't start none, won't be none" ~ Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones

Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device!

Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com

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[nysbirds-l] Short-eared Owls at Shawangunk Grasslands

[Carney, Martin]

Last evening, between 4:20 and 4:40 pm I observed 4 Short-eared owls at
Shawangunk Grasslands.  They were in the huge field, observed from the
concrete area near the entrance.  It was a life bird for me and truly a
thrill...Martin Carney

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[nysbirds-l] Breezy Point

[Isaac Grant]

The jetty at breezy was loaded with Bonapartes Gulls. There must have been a 
few thousand. They were well west of the jetty and were towards Coney Island 
and went well out towards Sandy Hook. With that many birds who knows what else 
is in there. There were also 2 purple Sandpipers on the jetty. 

Isaac Grant
Senior Loan Officer
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[nysbirds-l] West End/Jones Beach Birds (Nassau Co.)

[Ken Feustel]

We birded Jones Beach State Park this morning, starting at Field 6. We  
spent some time going through the large flocks of shorebirds roosting  
on the beach between Field 6 and the Water Tower. Present in a flock  
of approx. 5,000 Dunlin were two Western Sandpipers and two Red Knot.  
At West End there were three Black Skimmers on the sandbar with some  
brant and gulls, as well as forty-five American Oystercatchers on the  
bar to the west. At the Nature Center the Northern Shrike was perched  
in a shrub south of the center. It stayed there briefly and quickly  
dropped to the ground, shortly reappearing some 1/3 of a mile to the  
west. We had a large flock of Snow Buntings estimated at 300 birds at  
the Nature Center, but they never stayed put for any length of time.  
At Pt. Lookout Town Park there were three Harlequin Ducks in the  
vicinity of the western-most jetty.

Ken & Sue Feustel







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[nysbirds-l] Red Crossbill/Snowy Owls/Short-eared Owls/Long-eared Owl/Tundra Swans, etc.

[Joan Collins]

12/7/13 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.)

 

This morning, over the din of a couple hundred American Goldfinches
amplified over our baby monitor (that we use in winter to bring in the
outdoor sounds), I heard a Red Crossbill calling!  I raced for binoculars
and went outside - the bird continued to call from the forest in front of
our home (maybe curious about what all the goldfinches were up to) and
changed trees several times, but I couldn't spot it.  I would say it spent
several minutes calling near our home before flying toward the lake.  It was
wonderful to hear and I hope it is the start of more crossbills moving back
in.  I am fairly certain it was a type-2 Red Crossbill (as certain as you
can be without a recording for analysis anyway).

 

12/6/13 St. Lawrence Valley car-birding trip

 

I met Mary Beth Warburton and Eileen Wheeler at dawn in Potsdam yesterday.
On my nocturnal drive from Long Lake in an ice and snow storm, a plow truck
in front of me flushed a Snowy Owl that flew across the road in front of my
car.  This would be the first of 5 Snowy Owls found yesterday!  That owl was
found in Franklin Co.  Another Snowy Owl was found in St. Lawrence Co. and 3
more were found in Jefferson Co.  (Just a note to Northern NY Birds list
serve members who are not members of NYS Birds - the NYS Birds list
moderator requested that list members not report detailed owl locations - so
I am just listing the county level info.)  I suspect the owl that flew in
front of my car was hunting near the road.  Three of the owls we observed
(during daylight hours) appeared to be roosting, occasionally looking
around, but generally quite still.  The last owl we found just before sunset
and it was actively hunting - it was beautiful to observe!  We were a great
distance away from all the owls - I used my scope with the iPhone attachment
- both zoomed all the way to photograph 4 of the 5 Snowy Owls found
yesterday.  I posted one photo to my Facebook page listed below.

 

Here are some of the other species found:

 

Tundra Swan - over 200!  Eileen counted 117 in a bay off Point Peninsula,
and then we drove around to a section of the bay blocked from our view that
had just as many more Tundra Swans!

Gadwall - many

Amer. Black Duck

Mallard

Greater Scaup

Scaup sp. - huge raft too far out to id

Long-tailed Duck - over 200

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Wild Turkey

Great Blue Heron - 2

Northern Harrier - 1 male

Red-tailed Hawk - 3

Rough-legged Hawk - 5 (all light morphs)

Amer. Kestrel - 6

Bonaparte's Gull - 1

Great Black-backed Gull - many

Snowy Owl - 5

Long-eared Owl - 1 dead owl; This owl was caught in a barbed wire fence and
must have had a very slow, painful death - it was an awful sight. (Jefferson
Co.)

Short-eared Owl - 2 observed hunting and interacting at dusk (Jefferson Co.)

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Snow Bunting - ~68 (3 groups of 3, 5, and ~60 - this flock was a flyby)

House Finch - 1 female at a feeder location in Jefferson Co.

 

It was a fun day with great company birding a spectacular area!

 

Joan Collins
Long Lake, NY
(315) 244-7127 cell
(518) 624-5528 home
http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/
 
http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian
 

 


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[nysbirds-l] Additional Long Island goodies from today...

[Andrew Baksh]

In addition to the infield report of the excellent birds on and near Hook Pond.

We also had the following notables:

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE - 3 out of the 5 previously reported.  Bet
the other 2 were there but we could not see them.  Viewing was quite
difficult as they were on the fenced in property with the privacy
shrubs.

CACKLING GOOSE - at Deep Hollow Ranch.

KING EIDER (female) - at Montauk Point.

RAZORBILL - a couple of fly by all seen from Camp Hero.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larry) - at Napeague.


"Don't start none, won't be none" ~ Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones

Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device!

Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com

> On Dec 7, 2013, at 10:00 AM, Andrew Baksh  wrote:
>
> The 2 TUNDRA SWANS continue on Hook Pond.  In addition Eric Miller and
> I found a drake EURASIAN WIGEON in eclipse plumage also on the pond.
>
> We also dug out a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT from its warm patch located
> near the 4 wheel drive dirt trail area (southern shore) where we were
> viewing the Tundra Swans.
>
> "Don't start none, won't be none" ~ Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones
>
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device!
>
> Andrew Baksh
> www.birdingdude.blogspot.com

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[nysbirds-l] The New York Botanical Garden

[editcon...@aol.com]

Common Ravens, Cooper's Hawks and brilliant Cedar Waxwings highlighted the 
Saturday morning walk.
I found it interesting that the Cooper's Hawks are back in full force. Last 
winter, we found a Cooper's in every tree/bush where indications of Saw whets 
were present. NYBG can have a few Saw whets per season and the Cooper's have 
made them a primary meal. 
  On a happier note, the Cedar waxwings on the crabapples were a sight to 
behold. There were American Goldfinch dangling from Sweet Gum balls and 
Kinglets frantically working the yews. A well hidden Great Horned Owl was alone 
in the forest. I hope the female finds a suitor as mating season approaches. 

Cedar waxwings-8
Common raven-2
Brown creeper-2
Belted kingfisher-1
Great blue heron-1
Wood duck-1
Mallard-14
White throated sparrow-5
Song sparrow-4
Junco-15+
Cardinal - 9 in one tree
Blue jay-6
American Goldfinch-many
Ruby crowned kinglet-4
Red breasted nuthatch-2
White breasted nuthatch-2
Chickadee-2
Tufted titmouse-2
Cooper's hawk-4 (3 flying together)
Mourning dove-8
Red bellied woodpecker-2
Downy woodpecker-1
Great horned owl-1
House finch-2
House sparrow-3
Red winged blackbird -6
American Robin-many
Carolina Wren-1

Good Birding,
Debbie Becker
BirdingAroundNYC.com


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[nysbirds-l] Probable Snowy Owl

[Larry Federman]

I received an email concerning a possible sighting on Hunter Mountain Saturday. 
 Here’s the email:

“I wanted to put a report in to the Catskill Audubon Society of an owl
sighting today.  My wife and I saw a HUGE WHITE owl on the top of Hunter
Mountain this morning.  I though it was a seagull because its coloring at
first, white and gray.  The flattened face is a dead give-away for an owl,
so was not even close to being a large gull.  It was airborn as we came
into the clearing from the Becker Hollow Trail.  We were first up to the
watch tower and the ranger cabin at the summit.  We arrived approximately
on the summit around 1145AM.  The owl was unmistakably large.  While unsure
if there have been any other sightings in the area, I was hoping to share
with your group. Hopefully the Society can confirm our sighting soon!”


I asked him if he knew which way the bird was heading and will post any more 
info if I get any.

Best,
Larry

Larry Federman
Education Coordinator
Audubon New York
Rheinstrom Hill, Buttercup Farm, and RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuaries and Centers
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