Many will know I’ve mentioned my theory about Brown Falcon’s ability to ‘map’ out an area and fly, following that internal map.
I came across an article in The Smithsonian Magazine recently titled, Why Do Some People Always Get Lost.
The interesting part to me is toward the end and titled Mental Mappers. I can’t provide a direct link, and it’s a long scroll down. It refers to “….the specific skills that are hallmarks of good navigators These include the ability to estimate how far you’ve traveled, to read and remember maps (both printed and mental), to learn routes based on a sequence of landmarks and to understand where points are relative to one another.” ” Two of those skill are ‘Route Following’ and …and what’s often termed ‘survey knowledge,’ the ability to build and consult a mental map of a place.”
When my Mother-in-Law was getting on in years the family pointed out she was unable to move around on her own as, “She didn’t know where she was.” Now, I had to take exception to that as I’d travelled about with her quite extensively and was more than confident in her ability to go from home, to the shops, pick up a bottle of milk and return safely. And to venture in and out of several stores along the route. I discovered that they were judging her lack of ability because they had taken her to a shopping centre she’d never been to before and she had asked, “So, how do you get out of here?” I’m certain I’d have done the same. New place, new location, no mind-map.
As a young tacker, I grew up with a highly respected bushman. He could wander about for hours and still know where he was, where the start point might be, or the next spot to go visit. His simple secret was he named locations as he went along. Easy to remember names, like places, “The Eiffel Tower”, “The Burnt Log”, “Wombat’s Home”, and others. The landmarks would be no more than 200-500meters apart. So if he was somewhere, all he had to do was find one of his landscape features and follow back from there. When I walk the Eynesbury Forest, or the Woodlands Historic Park, I still use that system.
I’ve sat for an hour so so with so many Brown Falcon’s and watched them watching. Then when they fly, it’s a deliberate run at almost ground level, to swoop on something, or onto the next chosen perch. As they slip past a bush here, around a plant there, through an opening in the grass, it’s hard not to be impressed at their mapping ability.
And just in case you never leave home without GPS, here is a conclusion from the study.
…A follow-up with 13 of the volunteers three years later revealed that those who had used GPS the most during the intervening period experienced greater declines in their ability to navigate without GPS, strongly suggesting that GPS reliance causes diminished skills, rather than poor skills leading to greater GPS use.
We’ve also been following a pair of Black-shouldered Kites. They fledged two young about two months ago, and the young, as normal have now moved away. As soon as her young fledge, the female usually hands responsibility of their care and feeding to the male. She then takes a few weeks extended leave, and goes off to replenish her system from the 8 weeks or so of sitting on the nest.
For some reason this female had not returned for about two months. Her male kept station and I was beginning to think he was on his own.
However the other day, we found them both hunting in the paddock.
The picture on this page is of her sweeping in with a catch. Not sure if she took the mouse, or if he’d passed it on to her. Will have to wait to see what, if anything develops.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 
Lovely to see the female B-s K back, David! I await further developments!
As to mapping and awareness, I am not sure if it is innate or learned. Anecdotally I find people who grew up in rural areas generally fare better in mapping/locating/not getting lost. And I have yet to use a GPS or Google maps. Certainly both my Grandfathers and my Dad ‘taught’ me the ‘tricks’ along with a couple of old bushies along the way.
And I am reminded of ‘The Possum’ and ‘Springheel Jack’ who both appeared from time to time around the stations (Moorna, Moorara etc), could ‘go to ground’ for months on end and, as we eventually found out, were never lost. And that in the south west corner of NSW.
So the question remains, is it an innate skill as seems to be the case with the Browns, were they taught or did they simply learn by experience. That would be an interesting study!
Dave N
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Hi Dave, yes, the I often think a country kid learns much of that route finding by osmosis. Yet city kids do have a wide range of similar techniques through the rabbit warren laneways and backroads of a city, as this country kid recalls when he first came to the ‘big smoke’ 🙂
I’ve had several seasons with Browns and their young, and suspect that that both adults put a lot of time into funneling that youthful energy into the right directions. I wonder also that the brain of the birds make connections across the synapes and those connections give them more skill sets. But who’s ot know.
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I agree David, I a country boy have been in situations like your mother-in-law having moved to Sydney and transversed large shopping centres with my city wife, to be lost finding my way out when she was not present. It is amazing how birds can map their way thousands of kms across oceans and return to the same beach, or know which flowers they have visited, and rediscover hundreds of cached food under snow months later. These birds have plastic forebrains so I am told, which grow larger when used and shrink back to normal when not. Beautiful shot of the mouse pick up David, enjoy your week my friend.
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Hello Ashley, yes I remember my first year or so in the big smoke. What my city friends new about train and tram timetables and the like befuddled me for a long time.
When we begin to investigate the cleverness of each species, I become more and more in awe of the specialities each has developed But why or how they can fly the 10,000k every year is mind-boggling
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A beautiful shot of the BSK – the light on her and the dark background are perfect.
Your story about the bushman with the various named landmarks reminded me of a story I heard of how the woman telling it and her new guide dog were able to get around a large shopping centre. They taught the dog where certain places were, such as the post office, the supermarket etc, and the woman could then go to the shop she wanted which she knew was close by that particular landmark.
When she had finished shopping, she could tell the dog to go to the taxi rank, another important spot taught to the dog. However, sometimes the dog got fed up with the shopping and instead of going to the place she said she wanted, would take her out to the taxi rank!
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Ha, what a great story of the dog. I sometimes watch those dogs and wonder do they get bored by going through the same routine each time. A little creativity seems inevitable.
I worked with a man who was sightless and had to be helped from the station to work, and back again. We worked in a major processing lab, and once he entered the darkroom areas, he was for want of a better word, in his element and in complete control. If I walk into a darkened room and have to be careful not to fall over something, I always think of his confidence.
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Interesting subject, David. I usually use my sense of orientation rather well, both in the wild as in a shopping centre, as long as I am not deprived of my confidence by another person. I often wish I had the determination and confidence of a bird.
Your BS Kite female emanates wonderful light in this capture. I suppose she’s scored that mouse herself, judging from that fistful of grass she must have grabbed while picking up her prey.
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Hi Adam, yes, good point the grass is a give-away isn’t it. It all happened way out in the paddock and I wasn’t sure what they were upto.
It was very convenient of her to come in against the light and give me some strong side light for drama.
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