RBA * California * Orange County * December 29, 2022 * CAOC22.12.29 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* Little Blue Heron Cattle Egret Bald Eagle *SNOWY OWL* Lewiss Woodpecker Brown-crested Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Sage Thrasher Mountain Bluebird Townsends Solitaire Varied Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Ovenbird Black-and-White Warbler Tennessee Warbler Northern Parula Black-throated Green Warbler Rose-breasted Grosbeak The presumed *MEXICAN DUCK* was reported continuing at Carr Park in Huntington Beach through December 29. Four PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS continued at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach on December 23. A LITTLE BLUE HERON was reported to be continuing at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve on December 27. A CATTLE EGRET was photographed on Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach on December 23. A BALD EAGLE was at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach all week, with another (or the same) at Huntington Central Park on December 28. By far the most surprising bird in Orange County in years, a *SNOWY OWL* was first brought to birder attention on December 26 sitting on a rooftop in the City of Cypress. It has continued through December 29 and evidently has been present at this location potentially as early as December 12. It is presumably the same bird that was in San Pedro on November 12. It has been observed sitting on rooftops around Pitcairn, Saipan, Tokelau, and Onyx Streets. This is a CBRC review species and the CBRC will have the ultimate authority on whether this record is accepted for the State of California, which may or may not happen due to questionable origin/unknown provenance. Their decision will also determine whether this species is accepted on Orange Countys checklist of birds. This will not, however, determine whether individual birders accept this on their ABA life lists, if they have them. This will be an individual decision for every person who sees this bird and keeps an ABA list, but like the Mexican Duck above, if not accepted by the CBRC I will not be adding it to OCs checklist. A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through December 27. The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through December 28. A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through December 27. A SAGE THRASHER was reported from Chino Hills State Park on December 25. MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa through December 25, with others continuing in the field next to the parking lot at the Upper Newport Bay Muth Center in Newport Beach also on December 25. A TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE continued along the railroad tracks south of Chrisanta Drive in Mission Viejo through December 24, with another found at the eastern playground at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on December 27. Two VARIED THRUSHES were at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on December 26 and December 27. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park on December 24. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were found in the last week at Dana Woods Park in Dana Point on December 23, continuing through December 28, and in the University Hills neighborhood in Irvine on December 24. An OVENBIRD continued in the southeast corner of the fenced portion of the Urban Forest in Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through December 28. A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH continued north of the library at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on December 28. A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued on the east side of Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on December 23. A TENNESSEE WARBLER continued on the Sycamore Creek Trail in Dana Point on December 23. A NORTHERN PARULA continued at Del Obispo Park in Dana Point through December 26, where it seems to favor the oak and tipu trees by the leg over exercise station. Another was found at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa on December 25. A BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER continued at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa through December 27. An immature male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK continued at a bird feeder on the east side of Chrisanta Drive in Mission Viejo through December 24, with another in residential Laguna Canyon on December 24.
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 San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary bird walk will take place on January 8 from 8:00am to noon. Meet at the Audubon House. The next Carbon Canyon Regional Park bird walk will take place on January 15 from 8:00am to 12:00pm. The next Upper Newport Bay pontoon trip is on January 18 from 8:15am to 11:30am but is currently full. The annual Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) have been scheduled for December and January. The Chino Puente-Hills CBC is on December 31, and the Coastal CBC is on January 2. Reach out to Darrell Wilson, Sam Bressler, or Bettina Eastman, respectively, if interested in any of these counts. BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES None beginning anytime soon. **************************************************** 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