Orchard Oriole – 2 Immature males seen at Bart Spendlove Memorial Park in Mission Viejo
Today, January 25, 2015 at Bart Spendlove Memorial Park, two rare immature males were seen by Mike Sanders, Bruce Aird, Steve Sosensky and myself at approximately 1pm. As you enter the park and bear right, walk up the steps to … Continued
Varied Thrush continues + Greater White-fronted Goose for January 18, 2015
A late afternoon visit to El Toro Memorial Park (El Toro Cemetery) turned up 4 Varied Thrushes as the back end of the park. Also, a small cluster of Lark Sparrows were located at the north end of the park. … Continued
Zone-tailed Hawk sighting in Mission Viejo, CA on January 15, 2015
Yesterday, at 12:50pm, the Zone-tailed Hawk was seen flying over the Barano Trail at 12:50pm. Initially my observation was a dark raptor flying away and possibly a Turkey Vulture. As the bird circled back my binoculars confirmed the lack of … Continued
Photos > Mew Gull and Eurasian x American Wigeon at Village Pond Park (Lake Forest) and Great Horned Owl at Huntington Central Park on January 7, 2015
Today’s adventure started around 10:45 a.m. with a local visit to Village Pond Park in Lake Forest. This is a fairly small pond off Ridge Route between Rockfield and Muirlands Blvd. There were no less than 100 Coots, 100 Canada … Continued
*New – added Franklin’s Gull to the Photo Library on January 5, 2015
After visiting North Lake in Irvine with Mike Sanders we met up with Jeff Bray who was kind enough to point out in his scope initially the rare Franklin’s Gull on December 29, 2014. After a walk around the lake … Continued
January 4, 2015 – 3 park visits: Whiting Ranch, San Juan Creek Mouth and Treasure Island
After viewing a pair of Cactus Wrens late last year, my objective was to return to the same GPS coordinates (33.6820, -117.6426) and see if the pair was at the same location and in fact they were (photo of 2 … Continued
Golden Eagle seen at O’Neill Regional Park on January 3, 2015
An adult Golden Eagle was seen earlier today at O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon, CA. The time was approximately @ 2:15 at the back end of the park soaring overhead. GPS coordinates were: 33°38’55” N 117°36’12” W. I was … Continued
Varied Thrushes and Purple Finches on January 2, 2015
A late afternoon visit around 2:30pm to the Wilderness Glen park offered a total of two female Purple Finches at the very end of the trail closest to Trabuco Road and Los Alisos. I happened to note quite a bit … Continued
4 Park visits nets 3 rarities for Orange County on December 29, 2014
The day started with a brief 1 hour visit to Mission Viejo Lake of which a male Bullock’s Oriole was located in the sycamore trees near the basketball court. The completed checklist for Mission Viejo Lake can be found here … Continued
*New – added Surf Scoter and Black Scoter images to the Photo Gallery
Back on November 21, 2014, I was able to visit Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and met up with Jeff Bray in search of the Black Scoter (only a female had been seen at this point a male was eventually located … Continued