RBA * California * Orange County * April 26, 2018 * CAOC18.04.26 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 *TRICOLORED HERON* White-winged Dove Calliope Hummingbird Green-tailed Towhee Clay-colored Sparrow Bell's Sparrow Scott's Oriole American Redstart Cool Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Palm Warbler A TRICOLORED HERON that reappeared at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on March 18 was last seen on April 25. It has been seen well all over the pocket pond and surrounding areas including the Wintersburg Channel and muted tidal area, but can be very hit-or-miss. ***Because Tricolored Heron is a CBRC Review Species, please send documentation to the CBRC Secretary Tom Benson at secretary@... .
Two WHITE-WINGED DOVES were reported in the county in the last week, the first at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on April 20 and the second at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on April 22. Unfortunately, this is one species that rarely sticks around to be chased after, unless your name is Roger Schoedl. Most birds that are reported in Orange County are fly-bys that are never refound again.
Three CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS continued in the last week. This included an immature male in the butterfly garden, aka the (not so) "secret garden," at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach that continued through April 24. Of two Calliope Hummingbirds that were recently found in Silverado Canyon at Sherry Meddick's house, aka Ryan's chief residential competition for cool hummingbirds in Orange County, the female was reported through April 19 and the male through April 20.
Two new GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were found in the county in the last week. The first was found in Silverado Canyon at 33.751957, -117.555565 on April 22; this may actually be a returning bird first found by Jeff and me in fall 2016 in this same general area, or maybe it's not . The second bird was found at Chaparral Park in Irvine on the same date at approximately 33.63752, -117.81210. A third Green-tailed Towhee continued at the private FDA building in Irvine on April 25, where it has been since December 27. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW first found on December 29 continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through April 24, where it continued to associate with a flock of Chipping Sparrows in the grassy area north of "the island."
Two BELL'S SPARROWS were reported from the Coal Canyon area in the Santa Ana Mountains. This species is a year-round resident in Orange County and breeds in this area where there is extensive chamise chaparral. However, due to difficult hiking access from the north and restricted access from the south, it's one of the less chaseable birds to get in Orange County unless your last name is Aird or Bray.
A SCOTT'S ORIOLE was photographed in a residential yard in Wagon Wheel (across the street from Riley Wilderness Park) on April 21. The bird has not been seen since but is believed to be gradually making its way northwest towards Ryan's backyard...
Two AMERICAN REDSTARTS were reported in the last week, including one at Mason Regional Park in Irvine on April 19 that was first found on December 10, and one at Tree Hill at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on April 23 that was presumably the same bird that was first found on December 2.
We don't typically throw in hybrids, but this one was very cool, so what the heck! A likely CAPE MAY x YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER put in a very brief appearance in the Tree Hill area of San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on April 23, where good photographs were obtained. While superficially appearing to be a male Cape May Warbler, the bird showed several inconsistencies that pointed toward hybridization, including but not limited to a yellow coronal patch, reduced streaking in the throat, a gray back, lack of yellow in the nape, and lack of chestnut in the supercilium. As cited in Dunn and Garrett's A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (1997) and Baltz and Latta's Birds of North America account for Cape May Warbler (1998), this hybrid pairing has occurred in the past before, but certainly seems to be extremely rare from the general lack of records. The bird was never seen by anybody else and is seemingly gone by this point, but is just one more cool record from Orange County, arguably() the coolest county in California.
A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER first found on November 18 continued on the west side of Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach in the eucalyptus trees along the edge of Huntington Lake.
A PALM WARBLER first found on December 17 continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach through April 22. Its often seen to the east of the island area. LOCAL EVENTS ORANGE COUNTY SPRING COUNT What is the OCSC The OCSC (Orange County Spring Count) is part of a nationwide migration count, similar to a Christmas Bird Count, but timed to the opposite half of the migration cycle. This year the OCSC is being expanded to try to capture more of the birds that migrate through the county. Sea and Sage is encouraging birders to participate anytime during the months of April and May. This will allow us to see and count more of the species that migrate through the county. Again, this year we will try to focus on the best areas for birds since comprehensive coverage of the entire county is not a realistic goal. How you can participate: One of the objectives of Environment for the Americas (the sponsor of the hemisphere wide count) is to enter all of the data into eBird. This means that it is very simple to participate. All of the regularly scheduled bird counts in April and May will be included in the OCSC. The dates do not need to change. Darrell Wilson will also include the checklists from all of the Sea and Sage field trips in Orange County held during April and May. Many of you already use eBird. You can enter your Spring Count data directly into eBird for any birding that you do during April and May. You dont have to send tally sheets to anyone. All that is needed is to share the eBird check list with the Sea and Sage Audubon eBird account. (The eBird user name is sea_sage_aud). If you dont currently use eBird, you can sign up. Its free! www.ebird.org If you dont enter the data directly into eBird then you must send each checklist to Darrell Wilson at darrellwilson@... in Excel format. A goal for the OCSC is to count all the Top 100 Hot Spots shown in eBird. It does not matter how many times a particular spot is covered. Users of the eBird data can sort that out. A list of the top 100 hotspots is located in the Orange County Birding files section. UPCOMING EVENTS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS The next Upper Newport Bay monthly bird walk will take place on April 29 from 8:00am to 11:00am. Meet at the Big Canyon parking lot.
The next monthly Wildlife Walk at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine will take place on May 5 from 9:00am to 10:30am. Meet at the Audubon House.
UPCOMING EVENTS THAT REQUIRE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS
Sea and Sage's trip to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve will take place on April 29 from 7:00am to 2:00pm. Please email Nancy Kenyon if youre interested in going at nancykenyon@... .
The next trip to sail up Upper Newport Bay on the pontoon boat will be May 16 from 8:15am to 11:00am. Please email Nancy Kenyon if youre interested at nancykenyon@... .
The Spring Pelagic Trip has been rescheduled once again and will take place on May 19 (or will it). Reservations are required. Please email Nancy Kenyon if youre interested at nancykenyon@... . There is more information about the trip here: http://seaandsageaudubon.org/FieldTrips/Trips/Pelagic/PelagicTrips.html . Jeff won't be going, which means the chance for megararities is extremely high.
WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES None starting anytime soon. ********************************************************* 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 ( jbray4913@... ) 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 Doug Willick at doug.willick@... . 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, are not included in this digest, but reports of these same species occurring at other, atypical locations throughout the county may be included. 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 http://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/FieldTrips/FieldTripSchedule.html . 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 |
