Happy Thanksgiving and happy six years!
RBA
* California * Orange County * November 24, 2022 * CAOC22.11.24
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* Neotropic Cormorant Little Blue Heron Zone-tailed Hawk Short-eared Owl Williamsons Sapsucker Lewiss Woodpecker Brown-crested Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Townsends Solitaire Varied Thrush Red Crossbill Grasshopper Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Black-and-White Warbler American Redstart
The presumed *MEXICAN DUCK* continued at Carr Park in Huntington Beach through November 20. Note that this bird has still not been accepted by the CBRC, so until it is accepted it technically is not considered valid on the OC list of countable birds .
An adult NEOTROPIC CORMORANT was on Ponds 1, 2, and apparently B at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through November 22.
An adult LITTLE BLUE HERON continued at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach through November 23. The ZONE-TAILED HAWK at the Serrano Creek Trail continued through November 23. A bird reported at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo on November 22 may or may not be the same bird but I encourage people to take photos whenever possible for comparison purposes.
A SHORT-EARED OWL, one of my biggest nemesis birds in this county, was photographed at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on November 18.
A WILLIAMSONS SAPSUCKER was at the Los Pinos Probation Camp in the Santa Ana Mountains from November 18 to November 22. A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued in the vicinity of the Horseshoe Loop Trail and Puma Ridge Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on November 20. The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through November 19.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through November 23, and seems to move around widely around the lettered ponds.
A BROWN CREEPER was at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on November 23.
Three MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were on the Puma Ridge Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on November 21, with one at Talbert Regional Park in Costa Mesa on November 21.
In what is probably the most remarkable irruption of the season in Orange County, another TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE was found at the Huntington Central Park Urban Forest in Huntington Beach on November 22, while up to 15(!!!) (a county record) were around the vicinity of Blue Jay Campground in the Santa Ana Mountains this week.
A VARIED THRUSH was in the grassy area between Lot S and the restrooms at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on November 23.
A very unexpected nine RED CROSSBILLS were photographed flying over the Blue Jay Campground area on November 20.
A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was photographed on the Puma Ridge Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on November 22.
Two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were present along the Salt Creek Trail in Laguna Niguel on November 22 and 23, a continuing immature tan-striped bird and a new adult white-striped bird.
Up to two VESPER SPARROWS were on the Puma Ridge Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through November 22. A SWAMP SPARROW continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through November 20, generally hiding and difficult to find around the intersection of Ponds A-D.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was by Parking Lot N at Irvine Regional Park in Orange from November 21 to November 23.
The black-throated BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through November 21. An AMERICAN REDSTART was found at the entrance to the Morningside Condos in Orange on November 23.

LOCAL EVENTS
For a complete up-to-date list of current field trips, please visit the webpage on Sea and Sages website: https://wp.seaandsageaudubon.org/home-sas/field-trip-2/#FTSchedule
The next Upper Newport Bay bird walk will take place on November 27 from 8:00am to 11:00am. Meet at the Big Canyon lot.
The next San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary bird walk will take place on December 11 from 8:00am to noon. Meet at the Audubon House.
The next Upper Newport Bay pontoon trip is on December 21 from 8:15am to 11:30am.
The annual Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) have been scheduled for December and January. The Inland CBC is on December 18, the San Juan Capistrano CBC is on December 26, the Chino Puente-Hills CBC is on December 31, and the Coastal CBC is on January 2. Reach out to Doug Lithgow, Darrell Wilson, Sam Bressler, or Bettina Eastman, respectively, if interested in any of these counts.

BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
None beginning anytime soon.
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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 https://wp.seaandsageaudubon.org/home-sas/field-trip-2/#FTSchedule . 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

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Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita