O.T. Small Wonders.

Watching a bird hauling in stuff to build a nest today got me to reflecting on the marvels of nature, as a bird nest to me exemplifies those marvels and wonders. A simple bird nest; a collection of twigs and grass and leaves and roots—as well as string and plastic shopping bags---poses some deep scientific and philosophical questions.

How does that bird know how to build that nest, with all its intricacies? That bird didn’t learn it from her momma. She grew up in the nest her momma built and the next spring was fully equipped to go out and build one of her own, but nobody taught her how to do it. And as anyone who has ever examined a bird nest can tell you, that nest represents some pretty sophisticated work. I defy anyone on this forum to duplicate a bird nest in its simple perfection. You’re free to use pliers, tweezers, hemostats, zip ties, even glue. Be sure to explain to us how you were able to weave that strand of horsehair around the inner bowl of the nest, as well as those fine little grass roots and straws. As you ponder this, remember that the momma bird did all of this with just her feet and her beak.

The same principle applies to a spider web, a dirt-dobber nest or a wasp nest.

I’m not trying to open up any kind of theological debate here, but when I see these small everyday mysteries, and a million more like them, I’m just inclined to believe that there’s more at play here than the happenstance of evolutionary genetic imprinting.

OK, as long as you want to go into deep thoughts, I'll give you one of my own. I believe man is put on earth with an empty brain. Each animal is put on this earth with it's own built in survival trates/instincts, which man is expected to pick up on, and put together for his time on earth. It's all in front of us. We just need to pay more attention.

People used to be the same way, but modern ways have stopped evolution, we are getting more stupid all the time!

We have watched the video on TV of bald eagles building a nest, every stick that the female places the male will move! Ornery ba$$tard! We have lots of them in N MN and some of the nests get as big as a VW bug. A few years ago one blew down in a wind storm. There is an eagle sitting on an iceberg about 100 yards out in the lake in front of our house right now, been there for 4 hours. My wife just said maybe it's a female pouting because she couldn't build the nest her way!

The wasp nest was about a foot in Dia.

Not all are built in. I once saw an outdoors show on TV that showed a young male lion learning to stalk and catch a deer by trial and error.

He was smart, though. It took him a half dozen tries, but he never made the same mistake twice, and learned how to do it along the way til he succeeded.

That aint no "Wasp's Nest"..!!

It is a Hornet's Nest...

Use caution around it..and, on a cool morning, soak it good with Wasp/Hornet spray..then set it on fire...!!!

Ron..

It"s pretty amazing alright. But remember it took hundreds of millions of years to get a bird that can build a nest by instinct, and Mother Nature doesn"t give those who fail a second chance.

How about what these wasps do for their offspring?
Zombie cockroach

Yeahbut if those birds didn't know how to build nests "hundreds of millions of years ago" how did they survive?

One in Iowa ....let it load and wait till the advertisement is over.
Watch it live

They laid their eggs on the ground. Some picked better spots (maybe tufts of grass) and their offspring survived. Some laid their eggs out in the open where it was colder and visible to predators and left the gene pool. Just a tiny difference in survival rate wires in the instinct to nest.
On The Origin Of Species