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by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Original Post: #417 and 418 at Santiago Oaks
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It took so long for me to finish writing up my China trip that I’ve fallen behind in reporting other sighting closer to home. After returning from China I missed the Audubon trip to Crystal Cove State Park because I wasn’t sufficiently recovered yet. However the next weekend (Sunday, May 4) I headed off to Linette Lina’s monthly walk at Santiago Oaks. It wasn’t the warbler explosion you could expect on the East Coast this time of year, but it was a very interesting trip nonetheless.
The usual suspects were out: Common Raven, Acorn Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk, Western Tanager, etc. However the prize of the day was this Lazuli Bunting, #417. This is a small bird that has the sme basic plumage as a Western Bluebird, but different shape. It was fairly far away. This is the best picture I managed:
Then, shortly after we saw that one, we spotted a Hermit Warbler. I thought I’d seen one of these before, but after getting home and checking my records, I didn’t see it listed so that makes it #418. This was even smaller and less cooperat5ive than the Lazuli Bunting, so no pictures of that one. However it was very distinctive with its round yellow face, black throat, and black eye.
There was one more new species at the park, though this is one that “doesn’t count”. The Red-crowned Parrot is an exotic, perhaps becoming established in Orange County from escaped pet populations. They’re common in Irvine Regional Park down the road, and their range seems to be expanding:
However given parrots long lifespans, it will likely be decades before they’re accepted as a local species, if they ever are.
Total species count for the park was at least 37, and I know the trip leader picked up a few others I didn’t have:
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-crowned Parrot
White-throated Swift
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
House Wren
Swainson’s Thrush
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-crowned Parrot
White-throated Swift
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
House Wren
Swainson’s Thrush
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
The White-throated Swift was also an Orange County first for me.
On the way home I stopped at Peters Canyon Park and did the loop around the lake. This produced the best looks I’ve had at a Nutmeg Mannikin I’ve seen yet, another exotic.
Finally I made a quick stop at San Joaquin to look for the phalaropes and see if I could relocate the previous day’s Phalarope sp. However I was not successful. Both Red-necked and Wilson’s Phalaropes have been reported from San Joaquin repeatedly over the last few weeks, but I keep missing them except for that one confusing bird Saturday.
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