Beware of hard and fast rules, food for thought

Hello playmates! Now then where was I oh yes, I may have mentioned this before but Alan does not like to set hard and fast rules when it concerns animal behaviour, for instance only the other day I found a main Sparrowhawk food passing plucking post 150 metres from one particular nest (see photos). I have also found these as close as 6 metres or indeed under the very tree that holds the nest.


Some people say these are only to be found from 25 to 55 metres, when what they should be saying it is variable. But statements such as this and others too are often presented as a “positive facts,” for instance sometimes it is said a particular animal behaviour that is witnessed is unknown to the general population when the chances are it has been happening for thousands of years but just not reported in books and such like. They then go on to sound “so surprised” whenever this animal behaviour is witnessed by themselves.


Now Alan knows he really should not take such small details so seriously especially at my time of life if you take my meaning  but this particular male has chosen a windblown public place on flat ground for a feeding pass plucking post when according to the experts they are only carried out in secluded places on stumps or raised areas. Although this is often the case it is not exclusively so as I have also found them in open areas many times over the years.


But this is probably not done intentionally or is it! Personally I much prefer to keep an open mind in all things, but in taking this decision most of the previous day’s plucked feathers have been blown away thereby leaving very little evidence to the nesting area apart from the whitewash / slicing’s very close by to the nest itself.

So in taking this action it tends to make one reassess the whole question, are some birds “really that intelligent” or is it something else, such as inbred instinct / quality within a certain genetic strain, hmm.

Alan