RBA
* California * Orange County * March 2, 2023 * CAOC23.03.02
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 Pink-footed Shearwater Lewiss Woodpecker Hammonds Flycatcher Brown-crested Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Varied Thrush Clay-colored Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Black-and-White Warbler American Redstart Northern Parula Chestnut-sided Warbler Rose-breasted Grosbeak
A WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was seen flying offshore on February 28.
A PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER was observed offshore on February 28.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through March 2.
A HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER was at Gilman Park in Fullerton from February 23 through February 27.
The BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER continued at the Chrisanta Drive spot in Mission Viejo through March 2.
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued in the oil field area below Overlook Park in Huntington Beach through February 28.
A BROWN CREEPER continued at Del Obispo Park in Dana Point on February 26, while another continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on February 25.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued in the grasslands at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa through March 2, with another bird reportedly continuing in the field near the parking lot of the Muth Center at Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach.
A TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE continued along the railroad tracks west of Chrisanta Drive in Mission Viejo on March 1.
A VARIED THRUSH continued around Lots L and M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through March 2.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW continued at Clark Regional Park in Buena Park through March 1.
An apparently new WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was found along the Salt Creek Trail in Laguna Niguel on March 1.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through February 28.
An AMERICAN REDSTART continued at Laguna Niguel Regional Park in Laguna Niguel through March 2 in the vicinity of the water treatment plant.
A NORTHERN PARULA continued at Del Obispo Park in Dana Point on February 26.
A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER continued in Irvine in the vegetation just east of the Costco Tire Center, behind the air stations, through February 27.
An immature ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was at Gilman Park in Fullerton on February 26.

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 March 12 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
The next Upper Newport Bay pontoon boat trip will be on March 15 from 8:15am to 11:30am.
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.
The next Upper Newport Bay bird walk will take place on March 26 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
A bird walk will take place at Caspers Wilderness Park on March 31 from 8:00am to 11:00am.
BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
Bill Clark will host an introductory raptor workshop from March 4-5 (THIS WEEKEND) 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