RBA
* California * Orange County * February 23, 2023 * CAOC23.02.23
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* Solitary Sandpiper Lewiss Woodpecker Brown-crested Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Mountain Bluebird Varied Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Black-and-White Warbler American Redstart Chestnut-sided Warbler Palm Warbler
The presumed *MEXICAN DUCK* continued at Carr Park in Huntington Beach through February 20.
A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was at Quail Hill Trailhead (ponds) in Irvine on February 21 and 22.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through February 22.
The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through February 19.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued in the oil field area below Overlook Park in Huntington Beach through February 21.
A SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER was found in the oil field area below Overlook Park in Huntington Beach on February 17 and continued through February 19
At least 8 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued in the grasslands at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa through February 20.
A VARIED THRUSH continued around Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 22.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Clark Regional Park in Buena Park through February 20.
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continued at Irvine Regional Park at Lot P on February 21. Another bird was at a private residence in Orange on February 18. Yet another bird was seen at the streakout spot for the Chestnut-sided Warbler, near the Costco in Irvine (Technology) on February 19.
A VESPER SPARROW continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on February 20.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continued at Lot M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through February 23. Another bird was photographed near Overlook Park in Huntington Beach on February 20.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through February 20, with another continuing at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through February 19.
An AMERICAN REDSTART was at Laguna Niguel Regional Park in Laguna Niguel on February 23.
A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER continued in Irvine in the vegetation just east of the Costco Tire Center, behind the air stations, through February 19.
A PALM WARBLER was at Mason Regional Park in Irvine on February 20 and 21.

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 February 26 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The next San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary bird walk will take place on March 12 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The next Bolsa Chica Wetlands bird walk will take place on March 16 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
The next Carbon Canyon Regional Park bird walk will take place on March 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