Notes about your surroundings.San Joaquin Open House--The...

Notes about your surroundings.

San Joaquin Open House--The San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary is sponsoring an open house at the Duck Club in Irvine on Nov. 15.

The Sea & Sage chapter of the National Audubon Society’s new Audubon House, located next to the Duck Club, will also be open to the public.

Knowledgeable birders will be on hand to conduct birding tours of the adjoining San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve for those who are interested.

Open house hours will be from 1 to 4 p.m.

To get to the Audubon House and Duck Club, take the Jamboree Road exit from the San Diego Freeway and head south. Make a left at Michelson Drive, and at the second signal turn right, into the Irvine Ranch Water District. Follow the paved road running parallel to the San Diego Creek Channel and signs to the Duck Club and the Audubon House.

For more information, call the Sea & Sage chapter office at (714) 261-7963.

Bird Rarities--With the fall migration season about halfway over, the Sea & Sage chapter already reports that many exceptional sightings have been made.

The two biggest sighting highlights were at the San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve. The first county recording of a yellow wagtail occurred there Sept. 19 and 20. The bird is an extremely rare fall vagrant to California.

Also, an adult sharp-tailed sandpiper, Orange County’s second ever, was found Sept. 29, and was there until at least Oct. 8. Almost all recorded sightings of this very rare shorebird have been of juveniles.