Date: 9/5/25 6:14 pm From: Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] Orange County RBA: September 5, 2025
What a Supersonic Wonderwall of rarities this week! Hello, and welcome to
Orange County’s September 5, 2025 rare bird alert! If you missed any of the
bigger rarities this week, like on that pelagic, Don’t Look Back in Anger,
just Acquiesce and Roll with It. Some Might Say they’re only birds…D’you
Know What I Mean? But if you want to Live Forever in the annals of Orange
County birding and truly be a birding Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, get out there and
find some vagrants!
* California
* Orange County
* September 5, 2025
* CAOC25.09.05
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 Dove
Ridgway’s Rail
American Oystercatcher
Ruff
Stilt Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
South Polar Skua
Sabine’s Gull
Red-billed Tropicbird
Flesh-footed Shearwater
Neotropic Cormorant
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Little Blue Heron
Bank Swallow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Lucy’s Warbler
Virginia’s Warbler
Northern Parula
Painted Bunting
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE was photographed at Huntington Central Park in
Huntington Beach on September 2.
RIDGWAY’S RAILS continued at the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve in Irvine
through September 3.
An AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER was reported at Crescent Bay Point Park in Laguna
Beach on September 1.
The RUFF continued on the Upper Santa Ana River between Lincoln and
Glassell through September 5. A juvenile bird was photographed in the
restricted part of Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach on September 3, and a
juvenile was photographed in Pond C of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
in Irvine on September 5.
A STILT SANDPIPER was on Pond C of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in
Irvine on September 5.
A BAIRD’S SANDPIPER was on the Upper Santa Ana River upstream of the
Lincoln bridge on September 1.
A PECTORAL SANDPIPER was on Pond C at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in
Irvine from September 2 through September 5. Two were on the Upper Santa
Ana River on September 1.
A SOUTH POLAR SKUA was photographed offshore on August 30.
A SABINE’S GULL was photographed offshore on August 30.
A RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD was photographed offshore on August 30.
A FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER was photographed offshore on August 30.
NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS continued on the Santa Ana River and at the San
Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary and Mason Regional Park in Irvine this week.
Another was at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley on September 1.
A YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was at the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve in Irvine
on September 3.
An adult LITTLE BLUE HERON was in the pocket pond at Bolsa Chica Ecological
Reserve in Huntington Beach from August 30 through September 4.
A BANK SWALLOW was reported from Arbor Park in Seal Beach on September 5.
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS continued on the Upper Santa Ana River this week.
A LUCY’S WARBLER was in the southwest corner of the Nature Center at Mile
Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley on September 1.
A VIRGINIA’S WARBLER was in the fertile crescent at Mile Square Regional
Park in Fountain Valley on September 1.
A NORTHERN PARULA continued at Gilman Park in Fullerton on September 1.
A female-type PAINTED BUNTING was on the north side of the island at
Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach from September 2 through
September 5.
LOCAL EVENTS
Note: We will no longer be listing individual trips on this weekly email.
For a complete up-to-date list of current field trips, please visit the
webpage on Sea and Sage’s website:
https://seaandsageaudubon.org/field-trips/.
The Orange County RBA and events summary is produced weekly by Ryan
Winkleman. Sightings of rare birds can be posted to the OrangeCountyBirding
listserv, emailed directly to Ryan Winkleman (<rswinkleman...>
<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 can be viewed on 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://seaandsageaudubon.org/field-trips/. 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 for inclusion. #RBA
