IWC 62 - The Politics of Birds

The skies here are full of birds. Squadrons of swifts in formation dissect the air shrilly screaming and the fragrant fish-processing docks at the northern end of the wide sandy bay help to ensure that there are many gulls, but there are also a range of species that Europeans can easily recognise, including house sparrows and collared doves (which are nesting in the palm trees along the red brick promenade). Then there are some more exciting avian sightings even in the heart of the tourist sector including a lot of kestrels and, rather surprisingly, an encounter in the middle of a hotel garden with a young booted eagle.

 Fledgling kestrels just outside the conference centre.

Some of the gulls can be seen at night emulating bats and feeding on the fat and juicy insects that swarm around the powerful spotlights that line the shore. Their meals no doubt include a few of the large and winged cockroaches, which are poised to take over the world, when it finally become clear that human dominion has failed. 

The gulls and the small kestrels seem to spend a lot of time sparring. The kestrels are perhaps a little smaller and but are more formidably armed with hooked beaks and talons. Both species seem to rearing their fledgling at this time and I suspect that the kestrels may have a less than holy interest in the young gulls. Perhaps as this is
Morocco and bartering is in the air, they are trying to make a deal. Perhaps they are in negotiation along the following lines:

The small kestrels state the following: ‘We should stop our constant arguing. This is making the bird community dysfunctional; we are at an impasse!’

The gulls listen with interest, their small brains hoping to find a way forward that might protect their precious and demanding chicks from the rapacious kestrels.

The kestrels continue: ‘What we suggest is that you allow us to take some of your chicks; not enough to harm your population obviously, just enough to satiate our appetites and allow our population to thrive.’

The gulls look less impressed, but the kestrels press their point.

‘If you agree to this we can have peace; you can carry on making that bloody awful noise that you make at five am in the morning and we can continue to… talk about other ways to improve things for you. We would also stop taking some of the other smaller birds that we now prey on. Perhaps we would even conserve them.’

One of the gulls, who perhaps has been out too long in the hot African sun, moves a little close to the chief negotiator of the birds of prey. ‘Tell me more’, he says ‘we have argued too long. I, for one, respect your right to eat us. Let us reach out across the cultural divide, let us be friends’.

Some of the other gulls now gathered in a crowd for what might appear to be some kind of a conference are mewing loudly.

‘Don’t be such a nit!’ one calls but he is hushed by others from his northern colony.

The compromise minded gull moves closer to the falcons ‘How many of us do you wish to eat’ he says. ‘If it is less than you do now, that might give comfort to my brothers and aid this ‘peace process’!’

The kestrels say that it will be ‘sustainable’ (that is seen as very important and many gulls are now nodding) and according to the calculations – because they will have to expend less energy hunting and quarrelling - they will need less gull babies than now.

The calculation is complex apparently and chief gull negotiator now moves forward to hear the details (something about a choice of tuning levels for the kill quota algorithm) and in doing so comes within striking range of the other side and, because they just cannot help themselves, true to their nature, they lunge, they grab, they rend and they eat him all up.