Notes about your surroundingsRare Bird Sightings--The fall...

Notes about your surroundings

Rare Bird Sightings--The fall migration of shorebirds begins early in the Southland, according to the Sea & Sage chapter of the National Audubon Society.

The breeding-plumaged adults arrive first, with juveniles following shortly thereafter. The following is a list of sightings of juvenile birds of note during August and September.

A semipalmated sandpiper was discovered at the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh, and another was spotted at the nearby San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary.

At least three Baird’s sandpipers were seen at the south end of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

The first pectoral sandpiper was seen at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in mid-August; the first of the season is not usually seen until September or October. Other pectoral sandpipers were spotted at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary and along the Santa Ana River.

Several solitary sandpipers were seen, the first at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in mid-August. Others were at the Santa Ana River in Anaheim, the south end of Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Central Park and along the San Diego Creek.

Fall is also the time when most of the unusual inland bird migrants appear in the coastal areas, according to the Sea & Sage chapter. This fall has been no exception. Huntington Central Park was the scene of most of the highlights in this category.

The most notable sighting at the park was of a female plumaged painted bunting in early September. It was the first recorded sighting of such a bird in the county.

Other highlights at the park included a Virginia’s warbler, a Northern waterthrush, a black-and-white warbler and an American redstart. A white-crowned sparrow, a common visitor to the park between early October and April, was seen there through most of August, which is very unusual.