As I watch birds and squirrels at our house and cabin, I ponder the three most important things to these critters – shelter, sustenance, and sex.
They need to seek shelter to protect themselves from the weather and from predators.
They need sustenance to keep themselves going.
They need sex to keep their species going.
Some people watch circling birds and think "free as a bird". But that bird is rarely flying for the sheer joy of it. It is most likely circling to search for food or moving to where it thinks food may be more plentiful.
Sometimes they band together to repel predators. A few years ago, I watched dozens and dozens of crows come up from Lake Superior and join a cacaphonous mob in a neighbor's back yard. The neighbor later told me that they were congregating to intimidate a great horned owl that was roosting in a trellis. The crows know that great horned owls attack them as they are roosting at night. How many other wild animals communicate to others that they should organize for defense?
