Do you know the state bird of Utah, and how it came to be? How old are the oldest hummingbirds on record? Which gulls are of the cherry-picking variety? Get answers to these questions and so much more in this episode of Life List.

Topics covered include: Seasonal changes in birding; American Ornithological Society (AOS) updates, including a focus on genomics and inverted genes; why the western raptor that George spotted in New Jersey didn’t make the rare bird alerts; record-breaking gull lifespans and old birds including (you guessed it) albatrosses and storm-petrels, with a shoutout to good ol’ opossums.

Highlight bird species: Roseate Spoonbills; game birds for purchase; redpolls (how many redpoll species? you tell us); California Gulls; Laysan Albatross and other seabirds; shoutouts to elderly hummingbirds; moonwalking manakins.

Locations mentioned: Niagara Falls, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, the ocean

Links:

American Ornithological Society (AOS)

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Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to.

Ep 6: The increasingly golden era of birding and ornithology