Saturday, May 2, 2009

A Fine Example of Avian Architecture


Discovered this morning that someone built a home for themselves in our weeping cherry tree. I'm not sure what they were thinking since this is fairly low to the ground and entirely exposed; wouldn't be my choice for a home, but since our property is a death zone for cats they should be okay. I just saw a robin perched in it a few moments ago, so that is obviously the species responsible for the construction. I suppose if all goes according to the robin's plan, we'll have three or four chicks in there in about three weeks.
I marval at the sophistication of instict inherent in even the most common of backyard animals.

1 comment:

Scribbler said...

You've got a REAL tree! I remember how gratified I was the first time I saw a bird stop to rest on a branch of our baby tree. It wasn't just a stick in the ground, it was a real tree. Your robin has taken it to the next level by making its home in the tree.

"PRIDE GOES BEFORE DESTRUCTION" AND IN OUR MODERN ERA, PRIDE AMONG THE NATURAL SCIENCES HAS TAKEN THE FORM OF OVERESTIMATING OUR KNOWLEDGE, OF ARROGATING FOR SCIENCE A KIND OF OMNISCIENCE THE WE DO NOT IN FACT HAVE. OR, TO REFINE IT A BIT: "PLAYING GOD" MEANS WE CONFUSE THE KNOWLEDGE WE DO HAVE WITH THE WISDOM TO KNOW HOW TO USE IT.