MODEL BEHAVIOUR

Andy Pearson may not be an expert on birds, though he has few ‘egrets’ about that. However, the sight of a die-cast futuristic model certainly gets him ‘twitching.’

What seems like a lifetime ago I was chairman of an environmental charity. One aspect of that role that I don’t miss is having to be nice to birdwatchers. Not that I have anything against ornithologists in general, and most of them seem to be lovely, caring people, but a significant minority could be a proper pain in the nest box. I think it’s got something to do with the fixation on a specific subject as, in one or two cases, knowledge and experience seemed to be gained in an inverse ratio to social skills.

Whilst, as you may have gathered, our winged brethren are not my pet subject I did pick up a couple of valid general observations from mixing with their supporter’s club. One of these was the adage regarding ‘getting your eye in’. What this means in essence is that, once you’ve spotted a particular species, some part of the brain or visual cortex seems to become attuned in a way that makes it easier to spot subsequent similar subjects.

This certainly applies to my own specific wildlife interest in the local snake population and, at the risk of being controversial, the northern viper is a lot harder to spot than some winged wonder, as the wily adder doesn’t bounce round in treetops or wake a chap up at the crack of dawn with its relentless so-called singing.