Date: 6/1/26 11:51 pm From: Samuel Bressler via groups.io <pacificgoldenplover...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] California Bird Atlas, Pre-Big Weekend update and a challenge
Hi all:
The California Bird Atlas Big Weekend is fast approaching (6/4-6/7) and hopefully everyone's planning on going out and documenting breeding bird activity for the atlas!
As of today, 128 species have been confirmed nesting in Orange County, a result of over 4,500 hours spent atlasing the county. Almost all blocks have been surveyed, the remaining three unsurveyed blocks within the county include the San Clemente NE block, which appears to lie within the private Rancho Mission Viejo property, and the Alberhill SW and Sitton Peak NW blocks, both still impacted by the 2024 Airport Fire. Well done everyone!
It should be noted that effort has by no means been spread evenly across the county. For example, fully 20% of effort (over 900 hours! ) in the county come from just one block: Seal Beach CE, where most of Bolsa Chica and Huntington Central Park are located. Amongst the remaining 86 blocks in the county, many have been surveyed for 10 or fewer hours. While many of these blocks are in harder to reach areas of the Cleveland National Forest or the Irvine Ranch, others host easily accessible birding hotspots. I'd like to highlight three of them for coverage this coming weekend:
1) Laguna Beach NW:
This coastal block contains Buck Gully (good for various coastal sage scrub and chaparral species), Harbor View Nature Park, and San Joaquin Reservoir (good for waterbirds if you have a scope, and CSS species)
Effort so far: 5.75 hrs, 3 confirmed species
2) Canada Gobernadora CE:
Caspers Wilderness Park: Starr Mesa Campground, several trails within the park
Effort so far: 3.00 hrs, 14 confirmed species
Caspers is Orange County's largest park with vast expanses of native scrub, oak woodland, riparian woodland, and other native species that should host a large proportion of our native landbirds. The one checklist in this block was submitted by an experienced atlaser who compiled an impressive list of nesting resident species during a fairly short outing in late April, however now that we're in June, we can expect that our summer migrant species have begun nesting, so it would be great for a second round of surveys here to be completed.
3) Prado Dam SW:
Box Canyon Park, Anaheim Wetlands, Eastside Community Park
Effort so far: 5.22 hrs, 5 confirmed species
This block lies between southern Chino Hills State Park and the Santa Ana River in Yorba Linda, and contains several productive parks along the wildland urban interface. Additionally, the Anaheim wetlands contains potentially suitable habitat for otherwise difficult freshwater wetland species such as common gallinule.
I'll be out of town atlasing in the San Bernardinos, but I'm hoping some of you might be able to check out these blocks (as well as other underbirded blocks in the county) this weekend!
