In the Beginning was Information
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south-east and fly right across <strong>the</strong> Atlantic Ocean to western Europe andNorth Africa. Both kinds of bird have a specific sense of direction whichdetermines <strong>the</strong>ir different courses.Detailed results about navigational precision have been found by transportingdifferent kinds of birds to distant locations. A noteworthy experiment<strong>was</strong> undertaken with two kinds of marine swallows (Sterna fuscataand Anous stolidus) which breed on <strong>the</strong> Tortugas islands in <strong>the</strong> Gulf ofMexico. The birds were taken by ship in different directions and werereleased at distances of between 832 and 1368 km from <strong>the</strong>ir nestingplace. Although <strong>the</strong>y found <strong>the</strong>mselves in for <strong>the</strong>m unknown parts of <strong>the</strong>ocean, most of <strong>the</strong>m returned home after a few days, flying unswervinglystraight back to <strong>the</strong>ir eggs and <strong>the</strong>ir young on <strong>the</strong> Tortugas islands.Very many experiments have been carried out with homing pigeons, and<strong>the</strong>ir navigational abilities have been extensively investigated anddescribed. Salomonsen writes as follows about <strong>the</strong>se breathtaking marvelsof navigation [S2]:“Even when pigeons have been transported while anaes<strong>the</strong>tised, or when<strong>the</strong>ir cage <strong>was</strong> rotated so that its orientation changed continuously, <strong>the</strong>ywere able to fly back home just as readily as undisturbed pigeons, whenreleased. It can be asserted without a doubt that <strong>the</strong>se birds possess a specialability for determining <strong>the</strong>ir geographic position; <strong>the</strong>y have a realnavigational sense. We know nothing about <strong>the</strong> actual nature of this sense,nei<strong>the</strong>r do we know where <strong>the</strong> special sense organ is located.”These birds have exceptional faculties: They can return home over greatdistances, even though deprived of any possibility of orientation whentransported. Wherever <strong>the</strong>y are released, <strong>the</strong>y have <strong>the</strong> amazing ability toextract <strong>the</strong> required data from <strong>the</strong> environment to determine <strong>the</strong>ir positionrelative to <strong>the</strong>ir home. Even after having orientated <strong>the</strong>mselves in thisunknown way, <strong>the</strong> real problem arises, namely en route navigation. A simplesense of direction is inadequate for this purpose.When crossing oceans, <strong>the</strong> birds have to take drift, caused by <strong>the</strong> perennialwinds, into consideration. To avoid <strong>was</strong>ting energy on detours, suchfactors have to be determined and corrected continuously, as with a cyberneticcontrol system. The Creator provided birds with a very precise“autopilot” which is obviously able to monitor environmental data continuouslyand compare it with <strong>the</strong> internally programmed home location and<strong>the</strong> envisioned geographic destination, to guarantee <strong>the</strong> quickest and mosteconomical route. As yet nobody but <strong>the</strong> Creator Who devised it knows<strong>the</strong> locus of this vitally important system, nei<strong>the</strong>r do we know how <strong>the</strong>operational information is encoded. We use a special term to cover ourignorance, we say <strong>the</strong> birds have “instinct”.246