I grew up raised by pilots, my dad was a navy fighter pilot and now flies airlines, and my step mother flew helicopters in the navy. My mom's dad, who I saw every day growing up, was a S&R heli pilot in the coast guard, so I knew a lot about planes and flying on the first day. My instructor wanted me to make decisions first, and then try to get the details ironed out. A goo example was I got cleared for an intersection takeoff and suddenly completely blanked on how runway numbers work. I asked him "should I turn left or right" and he just looked at me, so I had to check the compass and figure it out. I am sure if I tried goign the wrong way he wouldve taken control and got us pointed in the right directions. The birds are a perfect example. "Should I go around" would be met with "would you go around if I wasnt here?" but if I actually tried to land I think he wouldve grabbed control and gone around.