BIRDWATCH AT ARUNDEL WILDFOWL AND WETLANDS TRUST

WE spend a lot of time complaining about violence in our society, but an interesting thought struck me the other day '“ in nature, being killed by another animal is one of the most common ways to go. As a rule, we enjoy an extraordinarily peaceful existence. If you were a small bird or insect, there is a good chance you will meet a violent end. Of course, you may be old or infirm first, but when the curtain comes down it may not be the quiet disappearance we humans hope for.

A small bird spends a lot of time looking over its shoulder, nervous, ready to flee from a predator.

Last week I saw this competition of predator versus prey close to. A friend and I were kayaking up the Arun. It was high tide and approaching dusk. As we approached the top of the Burpham loop, we saw a large number of birds swirling through the air above us.

I knew straight away what this was, as we found it last year: a roost of young swallows. I estimate it comprised at least 4,000 birds. It is difficult to describe the experience of sitting on the water surrounded by hundreds of these very aerial birds, jostling for a position in the reeds or ripping through the air just inches away. Being in the middle of such a large flock really is something special.

Not long after I had thought that such a large flock of young birds must surely attract the attentions of a predator or two, a dark shape came flashing over the top of some tall hedgerow: a sparrowhawk trying to ambush one of the swallows.

Now if you were a young swallow, hawking a few insects before bed and cruising around, looking for the best reed to roost on for the night, what would you do when, out of nowhere, the bright eyes of a sparrowhawk are suddenly on you?

Your choices can be simplified to four options: climb, dive, outrun your pursuer in a straight chase or outmanoeuvre with quick turns.