RBA
* California * Orange County * February 3, 2023 * CAOC23.02.03
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* Black Scoter Lewiss Woodpecker Pacific-slope Flycatcher Brown-crested Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Verdin Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Sage Thrasher Townsends Solitaire Varied Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow Harriss Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Orchard Oriole Scotts Oriole Ovenbird Black-and-White Warbler Tennessee Warbler
The presumed *MEXICAN DUCK* continued at Carr Park in Huntington Beach through January 28.
Two BLACK SCOTERS were seen from the beach at Bolsa Chica State Beach near Lifeguard Station 25.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through February 2.
A PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER was at Laguna Lake Park in Fullerton on January 30.
The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through February 1.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through January 29, and likely the same bird was seen across the street at the UCI Marsh on February 1.
A VERDIN continued around the Bolsa Chica Brightwater area in Huntington Beach through February 3.
A BROWN CREEPER continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through January 28 and another bird was in residential Laguna Niguel on February 1 and February 2.
A SAGE THRASHER was found in Lower Round Canyon in Irvine on February 1 and continued on February 2.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa through January 29.
A TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE continued at the Harding Nature Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 2.
A VARIED THRUSH continued around Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through January 31.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park through January 31 .
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continued at Lot P at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through January 30.
As many as three VESPER SPARROWS continued in the Arroyo Trabuco Wilderness through February 1 and at least two birds continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 2.
A SWAMP SPARROW continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on January 28.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continued at Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 3.
An ORCHARD ORIOLE continued in residential Fountain Valley through February 2, while another continued at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine between Ponds 1 and 2 through February 2.
A SCOTTS ORIOLE was photographed in the Rose Canyon / Trabuco Canyon area in the foothills on February 1.
An OVENBIRD continued in the Urban Forest in Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through January 30.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on January 28, with another new sighting of one at the UCI Nature Preserve on February 1.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER continued at Centennial Regional Park in Santa Ana on January 29.

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 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.
The next Upper Newport Bay bird walk will take place on February 26 from 8:00am to 11:00am.

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