Great Horned Owl – Lowry Park Zoo by Lee
THE SILENCE OF THE OWLS
“There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow:” (Isaiah 34:15a)
What makes owls so good at catching prey as they fly through the night sky? Part of the credit obviously goes to their amazing eyes that are able to see with such clarity in low-light conditions. But owls also have another design feature that allows them to sneak up on their prey without being noticed. Owls, you see, were designed to fly in virtual silence.
The authors of the book Discovery of Design point out that owls have an uneven forward fringe on their wings. Unlike the sharp, well-defined edge on most birds, the uneven fringe decreases air turbulence and produces less noise. In addition, the feathers covering the owl’s wings, body and legs are velvety soft. This helps to dampen and absorb the sound of rushing air.
Airplane designers are now exploring these features to create quieter military and commercial aircraft. Thanks to the owl, engineers are looking into a retractable brush-like fringe for airplane wings and a velvety coating on the landing gear.
In the book’s introduction, the authors point out that inventors and design engineers frequently look to nature for inspiration. But as creationists, they emphasize that the designs found in nature are not the product of evolution. Rather, the designs were embedded in the material universe by supernatural acts of creation. The purpose of these designs was not only for the benefit of living things but also so they could be discovered and put to use for the welfare of mankind.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, the creation not only inspires designs that benefit mankind, they inspire us to worship our Creator! I am filled with awe as I learn more about Your creation. Amen.
Notes:
D. DeYoung and D. Hobbs, Discovery of Design: Searching Out the Creator’s Secrets, pp. 9-10, 66-67 (Master Books, 2012).
©Creation Moments 2015
Lee’s Addition:
Isn’t it amazing the different items and ways of doing things that come from observing the Lord’s Creations?
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) by Nikhil
Little Owl (Athene noctua) by Nikhil Devasar
Buffy Fish Owl (Ketupa ketupu) by Peter Ericsson
Screech Owl – Magnolia Plantation by Lee
…the short-eared owl, …; the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; the white owl,…(Leviticus 11:16-18 NKJV)
All are part of the “do not eat” list.
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 
You would think that as “scientists” turn to nature for help in developing things for man, they would finally come to the realization that some truly intelligent being had to come up with all this stuff. Of course, some scientists do realize, but amazingly, most still do not.
Anyway, I was thinking about the owl being able to fly almost silently and sneak up on his prey. We could probably defeat the enemy of our soul more often and more easily if we just kept quiet more often and let God’s Word and His Spirit move us from within. And if we didn’t complain so long and loudly about the things that bother us, the enemy wouldn’t even know to keep hitting us with those same things. Yep, I think I’ll take a lesson from the owl and try to be quiet more and see if I can’t win a few more battles.
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Great application. Sounds like great advice also.
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loved those eyes :)
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