RBA
* California * Orange County * May 18, 2023 * CAOC23.05.18
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
Long-tailed Duck Brown Booby Neotropic Cormorant Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Vermilion Flycatcher Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Townsends Solitaire White-throated Sparrow Bells Sparrow Black-and-white Warbler Rose-breasted Grosbeak
A LONG-TAILED DUCK was found sitting onshore at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on May 12 and continued through to May 18, where it has been repeatedly documented on the spit of land coming east of the walkbridge from PCH.
BROWN BOOBIES were reported offshore on May 13 and May 14.
An immature NEOTROPIC CORMORANT continued at Pond 1 at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine through May 14.
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were reported from usual locations this week at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach and Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in Newport Beach.
An adult male VERMILION FLYCATCHER at the Dana Point Headlands on May 16 was a good patch bird.
A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER recorded at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park on May 12 was part of a small population that apparently breeds in the San Joaquin Hills.
A TOWNSENDS SOLITAIRE was observed at Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach on May 13.
Yet another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was found this last week, with one at the parking lot at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on May 13.
Its May, which means that Orange County birders flock up Coal Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains foothills to tick off their Bells Sparrow for the year (April is for Silverado Canyon). Reports of this species continued this week.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER was photographed along the Sycamore Creek Trail just north of Del Obispo Park in Dana Point on May 13.
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were at Canyon Park in Costa Mesa on May 12, residential Laguna Niguel on May 14, and the Agua Chinon Trail in Irvine on May 15.

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 Bolsa Chica Wetlands walk will take place on May 18 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
The next Carbon Canyon Regional Park bird walk will take place on May 21 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.
The new Upper Newport Bay bird walk will take place on May 28 from 8:00am to 11:00am.

BIRDING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
None just yet but an advanced shorebirds class is planned for this spring...
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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