Clever Birds

I got an example yesterday of how human beings have contributed to the evolution and development of this good creation. There are three seagulls in the photo. One is on the left side, just above the beach. Another is in the foreground, probably watching the other two glide through the air. And the third bird, in the upper right corner, appears to be flying by. But let me explain exactly what is happening in this photograph. You are looking at the fundamental flight procedures at any sizable airport. Bird number 1, on the far left, is coming in for a landing. He has his wings extended to full shape; we call it having the airplane’s flaps in landing position…more air under the wing. The bird’s landing gear is down…legs and web feet…and he appears to be looking straight ahead at the landing zone on the beach. Airport runways have landing zones where the aircraft should touch down. Bird number 2, foreground, is holding at the end of the runway until number1 touches down and turns off the runway. At major airports, Ground Control moves planes into position for takeoff and guides landing planes to various gates. That leaves number 3, who is not just flying by, but is on his downwind leg in the landing pattern and is about to make a left turn into his final approach for landing. There is a lot of orchestration, maybe choreography, in the daily routines of big city airports.  Amazing to watch, the dance of take-offs and landings is a tribute to human intelligence and skill. But here’s the point: I am really impressed with seagulls and other birds that have learned from human intelligence. Those birds are smart to have mimicked how we intellectually superior humans do things. Clever birds.