Date: 1/15/26 3:00 pm From: Thomas Benson via groups.io <tbenson...> Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Southeastern CA RBA: January 15, 2026
RBA
* California
* Southeastern
* January 15, 2026
* CASE26.01.15
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 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL returned to Silverwood Lake for another winter on Jan 11 (Tom Benson).
A BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER continued at Chino Creek Wetlands through Jan 13 (Jhoneil Centeno).
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
No reports.
IMPERIAL COUNTY
A LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen along the Rock Hill Trail (SESS) on Jan 12 (Laban Wenger).
Up to 9 *CAVE SWALLOWS* continued at the Earthrise Nutritionals algae farm in Calipatria through Jan 15 (Jonathan Irons).
A SPRAGUE'S PIPIT was seen near the intersection of Albright and Wiest Roads Jan 10-11 (Jason Vassallo).
A LAPLAND LONGSPUR and a THICK-BILLED LONGSPUR continued near Earthrise Nutritionals algae farm through Jan 10 (Jason Vassallo) and up to two THICK-BILLED LONGSPURS continued there through Jan 11 (Sasha Cahill).
A *CHIHUAHUAN MEADOWLARK* continued in Bard through Jan 9 (Eric Ongman).
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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
