A very happy (early) St. Patrick's Day to all of you, especially those of us who share Irish heritage https://youtu.be/NlcGB1ubuG4
RBA
* California * Orange County * March 16, 2023 * CAOC23.03.16
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
Black Scoter Bald Eagle Lewiss Woodpecker Hammonds Flycatcher Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Clay-colored Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Green-tailed Towhee Baltimore Oriole Black-and-White Warbler Tennessee Warbler American Redstart Northern Parula Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Two BLACK SCOTERS were seen floating offshore from the Santa Ana River Mouth on March 14.
A BALD EAGLE continued at Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in Newport Beach this week.
A LEWISS WOODPECKER continued at Irvine Regional Park in Orange around Parking Lot Q through March 12.
A HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER continued at Gilman Park in Fullerton through March 13, with another bird apparently continuing in the riparian vegetation in Horno Creek in Ladera Ranch on March 9.
A BROWN CREEPER continued in residential Laguna Niguel on March 10, while another continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach on March 15.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS continued in the grasslands at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa as well as 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 through March 14. Another was found in Dove Canyon on March 12.
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 14.
A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW continued along the Salt Creek Trail in Laguna Niguel on March 15.
A SWAMP SPARROW continued around the island at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through March 15.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continued between Lots L and M at Irvine Regional Park in Orange through March 12.
A BALTIMORE ORIOLE presumably continued at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley on March 16.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Aurora Park in Mission Viejo through March 9.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was found in the trees at the parking lot by the water treatment plant at Laguna Niguel Regional Park in Laguna Niguel on March 12.
An AMERICAN REDSTART continued at Laguna Niguel Regional Park in Laguna Niguel through March 15 in the vicinity of the water treatment plant, with another continuing at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach behind the amphitheater through March 16.
A NORTHERN PARULA continued at Del Obispo Park in Dana Point on March 13.
A BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was in the West Coyote Hills Tree Park in Fullerton between March 8 and March 16, generally in the vicinity of the oaks behind a house with a brown and white deck off of the Rosecrans Trail from Parks Road (immediately north of Avenida del Norte).
A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER continued in Irvine in the vegetation just east of the Costco Tire Center, behind the air stations, through March 12.
An immature ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK continued at Gilman Park in Fullerton on March 13, with another immature male continuing at Mason Regional Park in Irvine on March 13 just east of the park entrance.

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 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
None just yet but an advanced shorebirds class is planned for this spring, potentially starting in April although nothing is set in concrete yet.

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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