Date: 10/15/26 7:33 am From: Thomas Benson via groups.io <tbenson...> Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Southeastern CA RBA: October 15, 2026
RBA
* California
* Southeastern
* October 15, 2026
* CASE26.10.15
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.
Birds mentioned:
*GROOVE-BILLED ANI*
Red Phalarope
Heermann's Gull
Arctic Tern
Elegant Tern
Red-necked Grebe
Black Storm-Petrel
*WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL*
Least Storm-Petrel
Cocos Booby
Roseate Spoonbill
Broad-winged Hawk
Tropical Kingbird
Varied Thrush
Evening Grosbeak
Black-throated Green Warbler
Dickcissel
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
A *GROOVE-BILLED ANI* was on the publicly inaccessible Fort Irwin on Oct 14 (Brian Sandstrom).
A RED PHALAROPE was seen on Lake Havasu on Oct 12 (Konstantin Iordanov).
Three HEERMANN'S GULLS were seen at Spring Valley Lake on Oct 11 (Gavin Aquila).
A first county record ELEGANT TERN was seen at Silver Lakes on Oct 12 (Noah Arthur).
At least eight *WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS* and one LEAST STORM-PETREL were at Lake Havasu Oct 12-13 (Ryan Hood, John Sterling).
A COCOS BOOBY that has been on the Arizona side of Lake Havasu for several weeks was seen on the California side Oct 12-13 (Ryan Hood).
A BROAD-WINGED HAWK was seen at the Baker sewage ponds on Oct 12 (Adam Panto).
A TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen at Mesa Linda Park in Victorville on Oct 14 (Adam Jimenez).
A VARIED THRUSH was seen at the 29 Palms Inn Oct 8-12 (Johnny Bovee).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Oct 10-12 (Dan Ward).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at Roadrunner Dunes Golf Course on Oct 10 (Matt Grube).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at Horse Thief Springs on Oct 10 (Brittany O'Connor).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at the 29 Palms Inn on Oct 12 (Becca Cockrum).
Up to two EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen on private property in Fawnskin Oct 12-14 (Robin Eliason).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was heard Silver Lakes on Oct 13 (Tom Benson).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at Chet Huffman Park on Oct 14 (Michael San Miguel).
Two EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen at Yucaipa Regional Park on Oct 14 (Gavin Aquila).
A DICKCISSEL continued at Roadrunner Dunes Golf Course through Oct 8 (Johnny Bovee).
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Two HEERMANN'S GULLS were seen at Lake Perris on Oct 11 (Luca Cinus).
An ARCTIC TERN was reported near Mecca on Oct 11 (Noah Arthur).
A RED-NECKED GREBE was seen at Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park on Oct 11 (Anne Cheung).
Up to four *WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS* and two LEAST STORM-PETRELS were seen at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area on Oct 11 (Adrian Hinkle, Jesse Pline).
Single *WEDGE-RUMPED* and LEAST STORM-PETRELS were seen at Corvina Beach on Oct 11 (Eugene Huryn).
A BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER was seen at Whitewater Preserve on Oct 13 (Steve Myers).
IMPERIAL COUNTY
A RED PHALAROPE was seen at Senator Wash Reservoir on Oct 11 (John Sterling).
A RED PHALAROPE was seen at IID Wetlands on Oct 13 (Logan Kahle).
Two ELEGANT TERNS were seen at Senator Wash Reservoir on Oct 11 (Henry Detweiler).
Up to two BLACK, six LEAST, and five *WEDGE-RUMPED* STORM-PETRELS were seen at the end of Young Road Oct 13-15 (Logan Kahle).
Single *WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS* were seen at Bombay Beach and Desert Shores on Oct 11 (Adrian Hinkle, Andrew Howe).
Single LEAST STORM-PETRELS were seen at Bombay Beach and Johnson Landing and up to four were at Desert Shores on Oct 11 (Chris Dean, Adrian Hinkle, Jesse Pline).
An EVENING GROSBEAK was heard at Senator Wash Reservoir on Oct 11 (Curtis Marantz).
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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: Chris Dean, <chrisdeanbirder...>
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
