Date: 1/8/26 8:00 am From: Thomas Benson via groups.io <tbenson...> Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Southeastern CA RBA: January 8, 2026
RBA
* California
* Southeastern
* January 8, 2026
* CASE26.01.08
This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (https://groups.io/g/inlandcountybirds). If there is some reason that you cannot post there, please e-mail or call/text Tom Benson at <tbenson...> or (909) 648-0899.
A BROWN PELICAN was seen at Lake Havasu Jan 6-7 (Brett Garner).
A *THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD* continued at Bellevue Memorial Park through Jan 6 (Adam Panto).
A BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER continued at Chino Creek Wetlands through Jan 4 (Marlon Harrington).
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
A RED-THROATED LOON continued at Lake Perris through Jan 2 (Bob Packard).
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued at Demuth Park through Jan 7 (Noreen Weeden).
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen at Mecca Land Hunt Club on Jan 3 (Steve Myers).
Two STELLER'S JAYS of the "Southwestern Interior" group continued at Palo Verde Ecological Reserve through Jan 3 (Lucas Stephenson).
A WOODHOUSE'S SCRUB-JAY continued at Palo Verde Ecological Reserve through Jan 3 (Tom Benson).
A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH of the "Interior West" group was seen at Palo Verde Ecological Reserve on Jan 3 (Lucas Stephenson).
A PRAIRIE WARBLER was seen just south of Mayflower Park in Blythe on Jan 3 (Lucas Stephenson).
IMPERIAL COUNTY
Two *MEXICAN DUCKS* were seen along Harris Road in Imperial on Dec 5 (Lucas Stephenson).
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD continued along Alcott Road in Niland through Dec 4 (Tom Benson).
Up to 12 *CAVE SWALLOWS* continued at the Earthrise Nutritionals algae farm in Calipatria through Jan 6 (Connor Cochrane).
A LAPLAND LONGSPUR and a THICK-BILLED LONGSPUR continued near Earthrise Nutritionals algae farm through Jan 5 (Brian Browne).
A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW continued in Bard through Jan 1 (Marty Freeland).
A *CHIHUAHUAN MEADOWLARK* continued in Bard through Jan 5 (Connor Cochrane).
A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER was seen at Picacho SRA on Jan 1 (Emmett Iverson).
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Birds included in this weekly summary are those that are considered casual or of less than annual occurrence in San Bernardino, Riverside, or Imperial Counties, or in some cases regionally within these areas. If you do find or see something of interest, whether it be a geographical or seasonal rarity, evidence of local range expansion, or a novel breeding record, I'd recommend sharing that information with the CBRC, North American Birds subregional editors, or regional listservs as appropriate. Information for contacting these entities is available below.
Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to CBRC Secretary Tom Benson at <secretary...> or via the CBRC website: https://www.californiabirds.org/report_sighting.html
CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the North American Birds (https://www.aba.org/north-american-birds/) county coordinators. They are:
IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, <guymcc...>
INYO COUNTY: Chris and Rosie Howard, <chris93514...>
KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, <kkheindel...>
RIVERSIDE COUNTY: David Rankin, <david.rankin...>
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, <sandy_koonce...>
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Other dying birding listservs that occasionally include reports of birds in southern California are:
A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at https://www.sbvas.net/field-trips
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Bird status and distribution references that every southeastern California birder should own:
Birds of southern California: status and distribution (1981), by Kimball L. Garrett and Jon L. Dunn
Birds of the Salton Sea: status, biogeography, and ecology (2003), by Michael A. Patten, Guy McCaskie, and Philip Unitt (update: https://archive.westernfieldornithologists.org/archive/V56/56(2)-p126-p142.pdf)
Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley (1991), by Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Robert D. Ohmart, William C. Hunter, and Bertin W. Anderson
