I was in the bird hide at the Arid lands botanic gardens at Pt Augusta, Sth
Aus, a few years ago and I realised there was a Southern whiteface nest up
in one corner. A parent was feeding chicks in the nest, and wouldnt come in
when I looked up at the bird or towards the nest or the entrance to the
hide, but it came and went to the nest for some time when I lowered my eyes.
The hide is not large, maybe four metres square at the most I think, so I
was quite close. Each time it would stop on the windbreak just outside the
entrance, check out the interior of the hide, and then fly in to the nest if
my eyes were looking down.
Chris
On Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 5:07 PM, <> wrote:
> ----------------------------------- Original Message
> -----------------------------------
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Some birds know when people are watching them
> From:
> Date: Sat, April 4, 2009 11:30
> To: "Scot Mcphee" <>
> Cc: "L&L Knight" <>
> "Birding Aus" <>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I agree with Scot. I think most birds are well aware of whether they are
> observed or
> not. When trying to approach a bird which may be flighty, I find the best
> approach is
> not to walk directly towards it, with a sudden change of direction, but to
> try to drift
> past it to a better position, while not looking directly at it more than
> absolutely
> necessary. Using one's peripheral vision and looking through one's
> eyelashes can help.
> Birds use their eyes all the time and as Scot says, we are potential
> predators. For
> predatory species such as Currawongs we can be useful beaters. I believe
> that human
> observers taking obvious notice of a nest can give away its location to
> them and to
> Ravens, Kookaburras etc.
>
> Anthea Fleming
>
> >
> > On 04/04/2009, at 09:57 , L&L Knight wrote:
> >
> >> See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402124238.htm
> >
> > Absolutely. I have always found that Torresian Crows, to name just one
> > example, definitely get even more nervy and jumpy when they notice you
> > are observing their behaviour. This includes a characteristic "what
> > are you looking at?" posture they adopt before moving off. Also, rock
> > pigeons always seem, to me, to be nervous of humans actually noticing
> > them, especially when they are perched above the ground (where I
> > expect they expect not to be noticed).
> >
> > Besides, noticing a potential predator looking at you would have a
> > certain evolutionary advantage I'd imagine.
> >
> >
> >
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