From your (part) Irish eBird reviewer and NAB compiler, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!

RBA
* California * Orange County * March 17, 2022 * CAOC22.03.17
This is the Orange County, CA weekly Rare Bird Alert (RBA) and local events summary. California Bird Records Committee (CBRC) review species are capitalized and marked with asterisks below. All documentation of review species should be forwarded to the CBRC secretary, Tom Benson, at secretary@... .
BIRDS MENTIONED
*MEXICAN DUCK* White-winged Scoter Long-tailed Duck Solitary Sandpiper Black-legged Kittiwake Little Blue Heron Bald Eagle Lewiss Woodpecker Hammond's Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Varied Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow Harriss Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart
The long-staying *MEXICAN DUCK* continued through March 11. Just a reminder that the CBRC does request documentation for review species, so if you have good photos or video please send to Tom Benson as noted above.
WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS continued to be reported off of the Newport Pier through March 13.
A LONG-TAILED DUCK continued off of the Newport Pier through March 16.
A possible SOLITARY SANDPIPER, which are definitely much more common in fall than in spring, was photographed at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on March 12. This is an early date and unfortunately the blurry photo makes it hard to be 100% on the ID. If anybody sees anything resembling a Solitary Sandpiper at SJWS please provide photos, thanks!
A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was photographed at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on March 17.
A juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON continued at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach through March 13.
An immature BALD EAGLE continued bouncing between Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (March 12 and possibly March 17) and Huntington Central Park (March 15).
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through March 10 at the railroad parking lot.
A HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER continued north of Jeronimo in Calico Canyon in Mission Viejo at approximately 33.609484, -117.649737 on March 13.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued in the restricted area of Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach through March 13.
A VARIED THRUSH continued around Lots M and N at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through March 12.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Ralph B. Clark Park in Buena Park under the eucalyptus trees across from the tennis courts through March 12.
A HARRISS SPARROW found at Tustin Legacy Park in Tustin on February 20 continued through March 13.
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continued in the upper level at Vintage Park in Lake Forest through March 11, with a bird in residential Buena Park continuing through the same date.
An adult BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through March 12.
An apparent immature male AMERICAN REDSTART found on February 10 continued through March 15 in the Tree Hill area of San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine.

LOCAL EVENTS
For a complete up-to-date list of current field trips, please visit the webpage on Sea and Sages website: https://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/FieldTrips/fieldtripscurrent.htm .
** As a reminder, all field trips continue to require reservations in advance and proof of full Covid-19 vaccination. Email nancykenyon@... to make a reservation or get on the waitlist.
All upcoming MARCH field trips are full, please contact Nancy to be put on a waiting list.
Jeffs Birdapalooza at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on April 10 remarkably still has space left. It will be from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
The next Anaheim Coves bird walk will take place on April 17 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
The next available bird walk at Upper Newport Bay will take place on April 27 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The May 1 Spring pelagic trip is now full, but a summer trip has been added for August 13.

BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
The Birding Skills Workshop on SHOREBIRDS, presented by Sylvia Gallagher, started this week. For workshop information and to see if you can still get in, check the Sea & Sage website at: https://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/Classes/ShorebirdWorkshop.pdf
*****************************************************
The Orange County RBA and events summary is produced weekly by Ryan Winkleman and Jeff Bray in collaboration with Doug Willick. Sightings of rare birds can be posted to the OrangeCountyBirding listserv, emailed directly to Jeff Bray ( jbray3928@... ) and/or Ryan Winkleman ( rswinkleman@... ), and/or submitted to eBird ( http://ebird.org/content/ebird ). Any supporting details (descriptions, photos, audio recordings, etc.) of rare sightings that are not already disclosed on the listserv or on eBird should also be emailed to Ryan Winkleman separately for consideration to be mentioned in the current quarterly report for North American Birds.
Those sightings that are included in this summary generally include those that are considered rare (regionally or seasonally) for Orange County based on "The Birds of Orange County: Status and Distribution" (Hamilton and Willick), "Birds of Southern California" (Garrett and Dunn), and/or more contemporary changes in local or regional status and distribution. Rarities that regularly or seasonally occur at a particular location, such as annually wintering rarities on Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, may or may not be included in this digest, but reports of these same species occurring at other, atypical locations throughout the county may be included. We don't include hybrids, subspecies, introduced or exotic birds, or in most cases and for no real reason, geese. All bird reports are vetted to the extent possible prior to each publication, but in the interest of sharing information, the accuracy of any given report cannot always be guaranteed, nor can the presence of any given bird for those who choose to chase after them.
Information on upcoming local events is taken largely from the Sea and Sage Audubon website ( http://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/ ). Sea and Sage Audubon is based out of the Audubon House at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine. They sponsor a number of public field trips, special birding events, conservation lectures, and social gatherings throughout the year. Information regarding upcoming local events should be considered accurate at the time of this posting. However, for the most current information please refer to the field trip list on the Sea and Sage Audubon website at http://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/FieldTrips/FieldTripSchedule.html . It is also recommended that you refer to that website immediately prior to engaging in any field trip to confirm that trips are still occurring. If you know of additional upcoming events that are not sponsored directly by Sea and Sage Audubon, please email Ryan Winkleman and/or Jeff Bray for inclusion. #RBA

--
Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita