RBA
* California * Orange County * January 19, 2023 * CAOC23.01.19
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* Bald Eagle *SNOWY OWL* Lewiss Woodpecker Hammonds Flycatcher Brown-crested Flycatcher Verdin Tropical Kingbird Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Clay-colored Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Orchard Oriole Ovenbird Black-and-White Warbler Tennessee Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler
The presumed *MEXICAN DUCK* continued at Carr Park in Huntington Beach through January 18.
The BALD EAGLE along the coast continued to make the rounds between Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach and Upper Newport Bay. It appears the same bird made rounds up the San Diego Creek in Irvine as well, being seen and photographed multiple times throughout the week.
The *SNOWY OWL* continued in Cypress through January 16. It had been observed sitting on rooftops in the general vicinity of Pitcairn, Saipan, Tokelau, Onyx, and Reefton Streets. As of now the bird has not been seen since Monday. At least in eBird, over 1000 people reported seeing this bird over the 3-week period that it was on the Cypress rooftops.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through January 19.
A HAMMONDS FLYCATCHER was at Rossmoor Park in Rossmoor on January 15 and continued through January 18.
The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through January 19.
A VERDIN surprisingly continued around the Bolsa Chica Brightwater area in Huntington Beach through January 19.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through January 19.
A BROWN CREEPER continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through January 16.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa through January 18.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park through January 19.
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was reported in the Arroyo Trabuco Wilderness on January 14.
A VESPER SPARROW was in the Arroyo Trabuco Wilderness on January 15 in the same general area that birds wintered the last two years.
A SWAMP SPARROW continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach around the island through January 18.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was at Talbert Nature Preserve in Costa Mesa on January 17.
An ORCHARD ORIOLE continued in residential Fountain Valley through January 18, while another continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through January 19.
An OVENBIRD continued in the Urban Forest in Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through January 17.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through January 19, with another continuing on the east side of Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through January 15.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was reported from Centennial Regional Park in Santa Ana on January 19.
A BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER continued at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa through January 14.

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 Sea and Sage Winter Pelagic will take place on January 22 from 6:30am to 3:00pm.
The next Upper Newport Bay bird walk will take place on January 29 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The next San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary bird walk will take place on February 12 from 8:00am/to 11:00am.
The next Anaheim Coves bird walk will take place on February 19 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.

BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
Bill Clark will host an introductory raptor workshop from March 4-5 and an intermediate/advanced workshop from March 11-12. You can sign up with the form here: https://wp.seaandsageaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/RaptorID-workshop.pdf .

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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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Jeff Bray
Irvine, CA