by Robert Seward

Created on: March 15, 2008

THE FLOCKING OF BIRDS [9/16/02/RCS]

It is mid-September and the migratory birds have made an early departure from the area. The dry weather has reduced the food supplies, so they search for better habitats. It makes sense. However, the permanent residents are already starting their flocking behavior, and this is disturbing to me.

The sparrows, crows, starlings and pigeons don't gather into large groups until mid- to late October, when most of the easy food' has been consumed, and it is time for them to work together. They know something I don't know. I feel the urgency to prepare for the winter now, even though the weather is fine. Too dry, it is, but not threatening to the average suburbanite.

My wife and I make an effort to stay in tune with Nature. We camp in the wild with the minimum of conveniences, in order to appreciate just how challenging it was for our ancestors. We are connected to them, since our parents and grandparents taught us a way of living that was a reflection of their parents' and grandparents' dependence on their understanding of Nature. We harvest our small garden, can and preserve our crops, and, just as our folks did, "hope for the best, and prepare for the worst".

We are descendants of farmers and miners who survived the Great Depression of the 30's. We learned the importance of observing what goes in the natural world. There is a wealth of wisdom to harvest by paying attention to the yearly cycles. There is a gratifying feeling- a sense of well-being- when we connect with nature by realizing some small part of God's beautiful world.

Why do birds flock together before and after their breeding seasons? Why do they spontaneously take flight in large groups and give the observer a demonstration of tightly-formed aerobatic maneuvers that create envy from the best formation pilots in the world?

No disrespect to Jane Goodall, but gorillas move slowly on the ground and birds fly fast in the air. Who can capture the behaviors and motives of these birds when they go into their flocking behavior'? As I write, there are some 200 starlings in a great tree in my backyard, and they are making a ruckus of noise that rivals a political convention. Perhaps it is for the same purpose.

Having witnessed these avian conventions, I offer (as an amateur naturalist) these observations:

1) The fall and the spring flocking creates the opportunity for the species to genetically realign. That is, to prevent inbreeding. Just as plumage and song are used to attract a

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