Where are the birds?

[Mithril379]

Shouldn't there be all sorts of birds around? The only one I've seen is in the game over at the ABC site!

[Dmcquickly]

Being a birdwatcher, this question occurred to me too until ep 4.

So here's my take on it: Birds hate people that move, unless you put out a feeder, in which case they might tolerate you for a few seconds. Whenever the characters tramp through the jungle, they're making noise. Most of us birdwatchers hate being on well-traveled paths because of this--the boisterous outdoorspeople, kids, dogs, scare the birds off.

If you want to birdwatch you have to be very quiet and stand still a lot. Being in a blind helps enormously, but most of us don't carry a blind around to watch birds (unless we want to set it up at night and take pictures of grouses or some such).

I did hear birds in ep 4. So it may be the birds are getting used to the people around the beach. The noise of the "crash" the first day no doubt scared the hell out of the birds, and they probably fled to a distant part of the island for a while!

There's no fresh water near where they are. Wherever there is fresh water, you'll find birds. No shore birds like sandpipers for the simple reason that the people are on the shore.

I'm putting all this down with the general assumption that there are birds on this island. Most islands have some birds, but if this island is remote or a Philadelphia Experiment, then birds would not be likely to stray there. Except for sea birds, and they spend most of their time out at sea getting food. They just use the island to nest.

Tweet!

[Bungarian]

The birds are not there because they want the island to be dark and strange. Birds would mess that up.

You don't need a blind or to be still to watch birds. Most beaches are overcome with them.

[azteclady]

"Most beaches are overcome with them."

Er... they are, indeed - but if a sudden LOUD noise (such as our ubiquitous plane crash) is heard, these birds will fly. No maybes about it.

And they may not come back for a good long while - not only for the reasons Dmc presents, but also because unless you have scavenging birds, the stench of the rotting bodies in the fuselage would keep them away.

As for birds pestering people say, in Daytona or Acapulco, these are places where generations of birds (seagulls, doves, etc.) have grown used to humans, and have learned to take advantage of human waste.

To watch birds in the trees, you *do* have to be still and hide - even my cat or a squirrel running up and down the trunk of a tree in my back yard will silence the nightingale mid-song.

Beto

[Sleeestack]

Isn't it rich
Aren't we a pair
Me here crashed on this f&#$ing island
You in mid-air
Send in the Birds

Isn't it bliss
Jin, Don't you approve
Mike keeps horning in on Sun, while
Locke used to be One who couldn't move
Where are the Birds
Send in the Birds

Walt, where are the birds
Doesn't that f@#ing comic book have birds
There ought to be birds
Walt--Quick, send in the birds

What a surprise
Could the Monster see?
that Shannon was manipulated by JJ to be so bitchy
And, the Black Lady was sitting on the beach watching her hubby's corpse drifting away
What a surprise
What a cliché

Isn't Jack rich
Isn't Boone queer
Charlie wishes the island had poppies, birds and beer
And where are the birds
Quick, send in the birds
Don't bother, they're here

(input certain hand gesture here).

[JacksGirlfriend]

I particularly loved the stanza about Walt. Maybe he's like me - I'm afraid of most birds. He may not like to look at that page in the book.

It's funny - I thought of poppies too. Maybe they'll come across a field of them, although Charlie doesn't look like the type that would recognize a poppy. Oh, well, his loss...

JacksGirl

[JacksGirlfriend]

I'm watching the tapes again (I'd rather do that than clean). From the moment Jack opens his eyes, you can hear the birds so there are definitely birds.

JacksGirl

[Fitminx]

That was hilarious Sleestack!!

Maybe the crash did scare them into hiding. But JGF says you hear them from the outset...if birds were scared would they make a lot of noise? I'm no ornithologist, but if lots of them can be heard shouldn't some of them be seen?

I'll be keeping my eye out for birds. They'd certainly be a safer food source than wild boar, even if you do luck out and stumble upon Invisibeast roadkill:)

[WINDMILLBOOKS]

Why not due to the pterodactyl eating them?

/Alex

[Lockeness Monster]

I was looking throughpast episodes and I can't find the birds, I thought we were going to see some weird bird when Jack heard Claires supposed scream.

[oceanicair]

I was also wondering about the lack of other animals, besides the boars and polar bear of course. Plus, shouldn't there be more than the 1 polar bear that was killed?

[Badger]

The birds are not there because they want the island to be dark and strange. Birds would mess that up.

It's shot on location in Hawaii. I doubt they have much if any control over the local wildlife, let alone wild birds.

[spooky]

I've never seen any birds, but it sure seems like I hear birds all the time in the background; and, other "jungle" type sounds, like frogs, or crickets. At least when they're in the jungle. There's an ocean wave sound a lot of times at the beach, if I recall.