Date: 12/27/25 7:35 am From: Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] Orange County RBA: December 27, 2025
* California
* Orange County
* December 27, 2025
* CAOC25.12.27
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
Neotropic Cormorant
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Western Cattle-Egret
Bald Eagle
Zone-tailed Hawk
Prairie Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
Plumbeous Vireo
White-breasted Nuthatch
Clay-colored Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
A NEOTROPIC CORMORANT continued on the Upper Santa Ana River in Anaheim on
December 25.
LITTLE BLUE HERONS continued at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in
Huntington Beach this week.
A TRICOLORED HERON continued at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in
Huntington Beach through December 25.
At least one WESTERN CATTLE-EGRET continued at Bolsa Chica Ecological
Reserve in Huntington Beach through December 25.
BALD EAGLES were reported from Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and the Lower
Santa Ana River in Huntington Beach this week.
A ZONE-TAILED HAWK was present again at Rancho Serrano Park in Lake Forest
on December 22.
A PRAIRIE FALCON was reported from Peters Canyon Regional Park in Orange on
December 21.
An EASTERN PHOEBE continued at Harriett Wieder Regional Park in Huntington
Beach through December 25.
A PLUMBEOUS VIREO was at Emery Park in Fullerton on December 22.
A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH at Sea Terrace Community Park in Dana Point on
December 21 was a good bird for coastal patches.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was in residential Buena Park from December 24 to
December 25.
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS continued at Solana Park in Rancho Santa Margarita
on December 22 and at Aldrich Park at UC Irvine on December 25.
A BALTIMORE ORIOLE continued at Emery Park in Fullerton on December 22.
A BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER continued at Rancho Serrano Park in Lake Forest
on December 22.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER continued in the tipu trees along Arroyo Vista in
Rancho Santa Margarita from December 14 to December 20, while another was
reported from the Harvard Community Athletic Park in Irvine on December 2.
A male AMERICAN REDSTART continued at Huntington Central Park East in
Huntington Beach through December 20.
A NORTHERN PARULA continued at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach
on December 25.
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...>),
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 or to Samuel Bressler (
<pacificgoldenplover...>) 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. I 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 if it has not been photographed, nor can the continuing 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.
It is recommended that you refer to that website immediately prior to
engaging in any field trip to confirm that trips are still occurring. #RBA
