On Saturday, May 9, 2015 I had left O’Neill Park approximately 6pm and headed for the Bell View Trail NE in Rancho Santa Margarita in hopes of finding the Black-chinned Sparrow. A recent visit to this location on April 18 offered no sightings though earlier this year, they were seen/heard at the local Starr Ranch (restricted access).
At 6:40 PM at this GPS location 33.6580, -117.5567, I heard the song and moments later was able to locate a male singing nearby along with its companion. The male was cooperative and did not takeoff while I made further observations.
The images below and the link to the Black-chinned Sparrow photo gallery has been updated as of May 11, 2015. The Black-chinned Saprrow song can be heard on Xeno-Canto courtesy of Micah Riegner…it’s worth a listen.
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