[obol] A matter of perception

[J. Harry Krueger]

Dave (and others),
Did you realize that all real Idaho *American *Robins carry guns? :)
Harry Krueger

On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 1:43 AM, DAVID IRONS <llsdirons at msn.com> wrote:

>  Greetings All,
>
> Hannah Fritz writes:
>
> "We never could complain about Robins that they're greedy bullies at the feeder that eat all
> the suet and chase the other birds away, as you can with Starlings."
>
> I always find it interesting when people assign human qualities to birds and other wild creatures and then apply
> selective observations, biased by their own likes and dislikes to a certain species.  In the grand scheme of things
> Starlings are no more "bullies" than any other bird species.  If you make any effort to watch a group of feeding birds you
> will see dozens of small battles over space, morsels of food, and strategic perches.  As an example, find a thistle
> feeder that is being attended by more goldfinches or siskins than there are feeding rungs. The term "pecking order"
> becomes crystal clear.  Nowhere is life more dicey than the local hummingbird feeder.  You want to talk bullies?  A
> Rufous Hummingbird will take your lunch money. It's a jungle out there folks, and the weak don't eat.
>
> Greed is strictly a human construct. It implies that one wants or desires more than they need or deserve. I don't know
> about you, but I've never seen a fat Starling, which suggests to me that they are only consuming what they need to thrive.
> Like them or not, these birds are doing what they are hard-wired to do.  The aren't pondering outcomes, measuring their worth
> against that of other bird species and acting on those judgments (birds don't make judgments). They are just trying to survive.
>
> The fact that they are here "unnaturally" may annoy you. If this is the case, then I would look in the mirror because it is your species
> and not theirs that brought them here.  As is often the case, populations of the introduced species grow unchecked, usurp habitat
> and breeding niches (certainly the case with Starlings).  I find it irritating that Starlings usurp nest boxes and holes from native
> cavity nesters like swallows and bluebirds in the same way that I find it irritating that introduced moffiti Canada Geese usurp Osprey nests
> in the Willamette Valley.  However, I don't blame the birds, I blame the knucklehead humans who misplaced them on the landscape
> in the first place.
>
> Back to our old friend the Robin.  They aren't pacifists either.  Have you ever had one spend half a day bouncing off one of the windows
> of you house after seeing its own reflection and thinking another Robin was in its territory.  They are apparently aggressive and not very quick on the uptake.
> I've spent many hours the past few days birding Skinner Butte.  The most aggressive birds up there were the Robins chasing each other around as
> they defend territories and nest sites.
>
> Dave Irons
> Eugene, OR
>
>
>
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