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: Gail Benson
[~BEGIN RBA TAPE~]
Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, February
27, 2026 at 11:00 pm.
The highlights of today’s tape are SWAINSON’S HAWK, TUNDRA SWAN,
EURASIAN WIGEON, THICK-BILLED MURRE, BLACK-HEADED and GLAUCOUS GULLS,
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and more.
With birding this week severely hampered by last weekend’s blizzard,
fortunately some highlights do continue locally, especially the adult
SWAINSON’S HAWK wintering again in Brooklyn. As in previous winters,
this bird continues to roost and hunt frequently in the vicinity of
the SIMS Municipal Recycling Center located around 29th Street west of
2nd Avenue - access to this facility is restricted, but the area can
be viewed from outside the surrounding fencing. The hawk has also been
seen over the local neighborhood, including nearby Green-Wood
Cemetery.
Last Sunday afternoon as the blizzard was gearing up, 9 TUNDRA SWANS
were found on the icy Hudson River just north of Croton Point Park in
Westchester. The next day 2 were seen south of Croton Point but soon
flew north upriver and have not been relocated since.
A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted last Saturday around a puddle on
the Timber Point Golf Course off the end of Great River Road in Great
River, and that same day the presumed changing drake EURASIAN WIGEON
was noted again on Agawam Lake in Southampton, this lake just south of
Montauk Highway. A drake BLUE WINGED TEAL was present again on
Patchogue Lake in Patchogue last Sunday.
Yesterday morning a THICK-BILLED MURRE was photographed in Gravesend
Bay off the Caesar’s Bay Bazaar, while a BLACK-HEADED GULL continues
around Jones Inlet, often noted on the Point Lookout side, where 5
HARLEQUIN DUCKS were also present recently.
A GLAUCOUS GULL was spotted moving south over the Red Hook section of
Brooklyn last Saturday, and another visited Orchard Beach in the Bronx
on Wednesday.
Among a few wintering LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were one visiting
Central Park Reservoir last Sunday and another at Bush Terminal Piers
Park Wednesday.
Some scattered ICELAND GULLS included up to 4 around Gravesend Bay in
Brooklyn all week and 2 on Central Park Reservoir last Saturday, with
1 there Tuesday, while elsewhere singles were spotted at Brooklyn Army
Terminal Pier 4 Tuesday and on Thursday at Great Kills Park on Staten
Island and at Louis Engel Park in Ossining up in Westchester.
A decent number of RED-NECKED GREBES featured singles at Brooklyn Army
Terminal Pier 4 and in Southampton last Saturday, 1 in Jamaica Bay
Tuesday, another off Orchard Beach Wednesday and Thursday, and others
today at Breezy Point and Floyd Bennett Field.
AMERICAN BITTERNS were still being seen before the storm along Dune
Road, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted over Douglaston in Queens
last Tuesday.
Impressive counts at Alley Pond Park last weekend featured 78 RUSTY
BLACKBIRDS and an estimated 2500 COMMON GRACKLES on Saturday, followed
by a count of 64 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS plus 35 WOOD DUCKS and a WILSON’S
SNIPE Sunday.
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.
