Date: 8/14/26 8:49 pm From: Gisele Schoene via groups.io <giseleschoene...> Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Orange County RBA: August 14, 2026
Birders,
The gallinule was present at 5:40 pm, NE corner pond C. Very cooperative, walking on the edge of the pond, great views.
Gisele Schoene
Costa Mesa
Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________
From: <OrangeCountyBirding...> <OrangeCountyBirding...> on behalf of Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...>
Sent: Friday, 14 August 2026 18:56:31
To: Orangecountybirding <OrangeCountyBirding...>
Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Orange County RBA: August 14, 2026
Tom Wurster immediately pointed out to me that I had mistaken the dates on the gallinule, so for the record the bird was found yesterday, August 13, and continued today, August 14.
Having said that, there is a bizarre lack of any posts about this first county record and rare California bird here on the listserv, on Discord, and in the WhatsApp group. I assume it continued all day today and may even still be strutting about right now to the delight of many birders, but I have no clue because nobody is posting about it. For people who could not make it today, I'm sure they would appreciate people sharing early tomorrow if it continues for day #3.
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...><mailto:<secretary...>.
BIRDS MENTIONED
*PURPLE GALLINULE*
Ruff
Northern Fulmar
Neotropic Cormorant
Little Blue Heron
Brewer’s Sparrow
Summer Tanager
A first-county record juvenile *PURPLE GALLINULE* (OC #509) was found in Pond C of the San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine on August 14 and continued in the same pond on August 15.
Presumably this same old RUFF has returned again for another summer and has been seen in the Upper Santa Ana River in its usual spots since August 7. If the same bird, which it seems extremely unlikely that it’s not the exact same-looking bird returning to the exact same spot at the exact same time of year every year, then it’s at least 14 years old now, having already been in adult plumage when it first definitively showed up in 2013.
A NORTHERN FULMAR was photographed offshore on August 8.
NEOTROPIC CORMORANTS continued on the upper Santa Ana River in Anaheim as well as at Mason Regional Park and the San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine.
A LITTLE BLUE HERON continued at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach through August 13.
A BREWER’S SPARROW appears to have been photographed in La Bonita Park in La Habra on August 12.
A SUMMER TANAGER continued at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley on August 9.
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...><mailto:<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 Samuel Bressler (<pacificgoldenplover...><mailto:<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. 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. 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. #RBA
