Bird Watching From a Christian Perspective

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) by Dan

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) by Dan

(Following is a short lesson I made up for some Homeschoolers doing a unit on Birds and thought I would share it here.)

Where did the BIRDS come from?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:20-22 NKJV)

What Day was the bird created?

So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Genssis 1:23 NKJV)

By the way, on what day was the dinosaur created?
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:24-25 NKJV)
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31 NKJV).

Did a dinosaur develop wings and become a bird? That is what the evolutionist say. How can you disprove it from scripture? (See above)

Who named the birds? Genesis 2:19

What can we find out about the birds from scripture? Are birds mentioned in God’s Word very often?

They are called birds or fowls of the air in different versions of the Bible.

Here are some verses to look up.
• Are birds afraid of us? Genesis 9;2, Psalm 8:5-8
• Can we tame them? James 3:7, Job 41:5
• Can we eat them? Deuteronomy 14:11 (Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Cornish Hen)
• Are there some we can’t eat? Deuteronomy:12-19
• Were they used for sacrifice before Christ came and died for us?
• Did Solomon give proverbs about birds? I Kings 4:33
• Are Nests mentioned? Psalms 104:17, Matthew 8:20, 13:32
• Did God give them instincts? Proverbs 1:17
• What kind of habits do they have? Job 39:13-18, 39:26-30
• Do they stay in the same place all the time? (Migrate) Jeremiah 8:7
• Was a mother bird and her young ones protected? Deuteronomy 22:6-7
• Are cages mentioned? Jer 5:27, Rev 18:2
• What were birds suppose to eat? Genesis 1:30

Why should we go bird watching?

Job 12:7 tells us:
“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ (Job 35:11 NKJV)

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalm 50:11 NKJV)

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
(Matthew 6:26 NKJV)

Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
(Luke 12:23-24 NKJV)

Each bird has the own different note or song: Psa 104:12; Ecc 12:4, Son 2:12

Make their nests:
• In trees Psalm 104:17, Ezekiel 31:6
• On the ground Deuteronomy 22:6
• In clefts of rocks Num 224:21; Jeremiah 48:28
• In deserted cities Isaiah 34:15
• Under the roofs of houses Psalm 84:3

How are we going to know about the birds if we don’t get out there and look at them? You need to not only look at them and say, “Yep, that’s a bird!”, but you need to watch them and see what can be learned about them and from them.

Since this was originally type up, the following articles were released along the same idea.
Birds of the Bible – Foundation #1
Birds of the Bible – Foundation #2

(Some notes taken from Nave’s Topical Bible and R.A.Torrey’s New Topical Textbook.)

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8 thoughts on “Bird Watching From a Christian Perspective”

  3. Hi Lee,

    I was thinking about doing a slide presentation on YT with your photos for the glory of God and his creation. Credit could be placed on the photos for those that require it. We would also include whatever info you desire.

    Acts 20:31
    Dave

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  4. Thanks for the offer Lee!

    the camp will be held on April 8, 9, 10. The kids attending will be about age 8 – 12. Many of them are from low-income families and live in a crowded community where there are almost no more trees, just tiny houses. Maybe the only birds they’ve seen in their entire lives are the ordinary maya (unless they’ve attended school field trips and been to a zoo).

    I’m going to give the kids (in groups) some Scripture references and have them find out some birds mentioned in the Bible. (Only those that they’ve heard of before such as eagle, ostrich, partridge — from the Christmas song, owl, dove, quail — we eat quail eggs quite often in the Philippines, and peacock.)

    We’re going to sing some Christian songs that mention birds. (On Eagles’ Wings, How Lovely is your Dwelling Place)

    I’m going to have them close their eyes and try to listen to bird calls.

    Am going to discuss your birdwatching tips and hopefully,
    all throughout the 3-day camp they’ll be able to see some birds on their own.

    Those are my ideas — would appreciate any more tips or help. Again, thank you so much Lee!

    Myra del Rosario, Rizal, Philippines

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    • Hello Myra del Rosario

      Sorry it has taken me a few days to get to your comment. Every time I came to the computer to answer it, something got in the way. Anyway, I am glad to about your upcoming camp plans.
      Here are a few things that might help.
      1. Going to my Birds of the Bible page https://leesbird.com/bb/ will list every one of the birds and following the different bird’s link will also help you find the Scriptures for them.
      2. The Nave’s Topical Bible – Birds page https://leesbird.com/ref/ntb/b/birds/ and the Torrey;s Topical Textbook page for Birds
      https://leesbird.com/ref/ttt/b/birds/ have most of the Scriptures.
      3. For sounds to use, the website Xeno-Canto http://www.xeno-canto.org/ has recording of 1,000 of bird songs and they are public domain, I think.
      4. The Birds in Hymns pages may help with the songs – https://leesbird.com/b-i-h/ There are other Christian songs out there about birds, but I can’t use them because of copyrights, but you could use them in camp atmosphere. One of my favorites is the Cyber Hymnal http://www.hymntime.com/tch/ Go to the search and type in a bird name like “dove, bird, eagle, or etc” and you will be surprised how many songs there are.
       5. Enjoy your camp time with the children and our prayers will be with you.
      Lee

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    • Hello Myra del Rosario

      Sorry it has taken me a few days to get to your comment. Every time I came to the computer to answer it, something got in the way. Anyway, I am glad to about your upcoming camp plans.
      Here are a few things that might help.
      1. Going to my Birds of the Bible page https://leesbird.com/bb/ will list every one of the birds and following the different bird’s link will also help you find the Scriptures for them.
      2. The Nave’s Topical Bible – Birds page https://leesbird.com/ref/ntb/b/birds/ and the Torrey;s Topical Textbook page for Birds
      https://leesbird.com/ref/ttt/b/birds/ have most of the Scriptures.
      3. For sounds to use, the website Xeno-Canto http://www.xeno-canto.org/ has recording of 1,000 of bird songs and they are public domain, I think.
      4. The Birds in Hymns pages may help with the songs – https://leesbird.com/b-i-h/ There are other Christian songs out there about birds, but I can’t use them because of copyrights, but you could use them in camp atmosphere. One of my favorites is the Cyber Hymnal http://www.hymntime.com/tch/ Go to the search and type in a bird name like “dove, bird, eagle, or etc” and you will be surprised how many songs there are.
       5. Enjoy your camp time with the children and our prayers will be with you.

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  5. Thank you for sharing these thoughts. Will share some of your tips when our church holds a camp for Sunday School children in April.

    Myra Gaculais del Rosario
    Rizal
    Philippines

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