So, everyone's heard "Surfin' Bird," by the Trashmen. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard charts in 1963, and remains for some the ultimate pop culture combination of birds and surfing.  But for someone who grew up surfing in Southern California, the two will always be inextricably linked. Because when you're sitting out there on your board, waiting for the next wave, sometimes the only thing keeping you company are the gulls, pelicans and other marine birds. That's probably why my favorite bird will always be the Brown Pelican. How many times I've seen them gliding in formation a few inches above the glassy water in the quiet of the morning. Turns out, I'm not the only one who's ever connected the two (photo above by Stephen McNicholas):

Here's my all-time favorite surfer/bird photo, of Al the Albatross in Pt. Arena. It would be pretty sweet to surf with a Laysan Albatross.

And we also love this shot of a wave rider being taken out by an adventurous cormorant.

Here are some other great ones:

photo by Monkeycnet

Photo by Jon Bowen

Photo by John Curley

photo by Travis Wiens

photo by Wes Koseki

photo by Mike Baird

Sometimes the birds don't need our help to enjoy the surf. photo by Today is a good day

And we'll wrap it up with this quiet video of a robin taking refuge on a guy's stand-up paddleboard in Ireland.