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Oldest Bird Stories, Part II
Since reading about the California Gull age record, I looked around for the overall oldest bird. Here are a few links:
World’ Oldest Wild Bird Gives Birth at 62
World’s Oldest Parrot is a Hollywood Legend (and it’s really a macaw)
Guinness Record for Oldest Living Parrot (in direct conflict with the previous link)
Winston’s obscene parrot lives on (and it’s yet another macaw)
Needless to say, the provenance of many age claims is dubious. Believe them at your own risk.
Oldest California Gull Found in Silicon Valley
When rescue workers checked the gull’s leg band, they found ….. here’s the article. The article may be only partially correct, as seen on the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center’s page on the Longevity of North American Birds. There are several California Gulls of similar age as the Silicon Valley bird. This could take precious hours of your day to peruse, so I’ll just say that the longest recorded gull I found was a Western Gull at 33 years, 11 months.
Feel free to search the list for the longest-lived bird of all. 
Migration phenom?
A surprising number of Brown Pelicans and Heerman’s Gulls on Will Rogers State Beach and seaward this morning, between Channel Rd./Chatauqua Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. Also seen in large numbers: Elegant Terns, a flock of (presumed) Sooty Shearwaters, and Double-crested Cormorants.
A beach flock just south of the BelAir Beach Club along Will Rogers State Beach.
photos and text, Lu Plauzoles
Penguin Chicks on Webcam
A pair of Magellanic Penguin chicks hatched at the Aquarium of The Pacific in Long Beach about a month ago. Here’s a link to their live web camera. The chicks will not be on public view until later this summer. Get yourself a nice frosty-cold drink and enjoy the scene!
http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/exhibits/webcam_penguin_chicks
Nothing like “home”
The Santa Monica Beach Maintenance crew erected the Snowy Plover fencing early this year, before the end of July, and it seems that the plovers are just as grateful as we plover-watchers at SMBAS. Previously the fencing has been postponed to well after Labor Day. 
On two Sundays we have observed the small flock of 16 to 18 plovers using the fenced area as refuge from the large crowds of beachgoers. Thanks to Paul Davis of the City of Santa Monica for making time in the busy summer months to help the birds. SMBAS is contributing to the cost of of the fencing on an annual basis.
LucienP Conservation Chair
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 