RBA
* California * Orange County * February 10, 2023 * CAOC23.02.10
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
White-winged Scoter Black Scoter Red-footed Booby Lewiss Woodpecker Pacific-slope Flycatcher Hammonds Flycatcher Gray Flycatcher Brown-crested Flycatcher Verdin Sage Thrasher Mountain Bluebird Townsends Solitaire Varied Thrush Lawrences Goldfinch Grasshopper Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Orchard Oriole Black-and-White Warbler
Two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS were found off of Bolsa Chica State Beach this week.
At least two males and potentially a female BLACK SCOTER were seen from the beach at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
A RED-FOOTED BOOBY was seen flying past the Newport Pier on February 10.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through February 10.
A PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot on February 10.
A HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER continued at Rossmoor Park in Rossmoor through February 4.
A GRAY FLYCATCHER was found on the Willows Trail just west of Irvine Regional Park on February 8 and continued through February 9.
The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through February 5.
A VERDIN continued around the Bolsa Chica Brightwater area in Huntington Beach through February 4.
A SAGE THRASHER continued on the undeveloped slopes of Round Canyon north of Portola Parkway in Irvine through February 10. A second bird was reported at this location on February 5. Another was found on the Bell View Trail in Rancho Santa Margarita on February 10.
A MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was reported to be continuing near the parking lot of the Upper Newport Bay Muth Center in Newport Beach on February 7.
A TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE continued at the Harding Nature Trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 8. A bird reported by the two ponds on February 7 may be a different bird that was originally reported in that area before the Harding Nature Trail reports.
A VARIED THRUSH continued around Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 7.
LAWRENCES GOLDFINCHES were present at Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Round Canyon in Irvine, Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park, and the Villa Park Flood Control (Magic) Basin in Villa Park this week.
A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW continued at Bommer Canyon in Irvine on February 8.
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continued at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton on February 10.
Three VESPER SPARROWS continued in the Arroyo Trabuco Wilderness through February 8, one bird continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 4, and one was at Irvine Lake on February 5.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continued at Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 10.
An ORCHARD ORIOLE was reported to continue at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through February 8.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo on February 4.

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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Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita