Want a Home in the Mountains? Some Birds Have One!

September 24, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

Want a Home in the Mountains? Some Northern Flickers Have One!

James J. S. Johnson

I know all the fowls [i.e., birds] of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. Psalm 50:11

Mountains are wonderful places to see God’s handiwork, including the many birds dwelling in (and around) mountains year-round or seasonally. Some of my best bird-watching has been done in mountains, usually the Rocky Mountains or Appalachians. (This birding report notes the Rocky Mountains’ Northern Flicker.)

Of specific mountain ranges, one of my all-time favorite mountain ranges is the Sangre de Cristo Range, northern part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (themselves a range within the Rocky Mountains) that runs north-to-south in southern Colorado, spilling into northern New Mexico. Within that range my favorite mountain is Horn Peak, near Horn Creek Christian Family Camp (where Dr. Stan Toussaint occasionally taught the Scriptures) and Sangre de Cristo Seminary, not far outside of Westcliffe, Colorado. The elevation there ranges about 8500 feet, with Horn Peak peaking at about 14,000 feet!

Sangre de Cristo Range Looking West ©WikiC

“Sangre de Cristo” is Spanish for “blood of Christ”, perhaps an indication that the range was named when its snow-capped mountains were reflecting a scarlet-hued sunset. In any case, it’s magnificently beautiful out there.

Sangre de Christo Mountains, Winter Sunset ©WikiC

Much of Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Range is located within two of America’s national forests: San Isabel National Forest (containing the range’s northeastern portion), and the Rio Grande National Forest (containing most of the southwestern portion, i.e., the San Luis Valley). Amazingly, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains border a very unusual inland sand dunes area (the largest in North America), the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. By the way, where did all that sand come from? (Hint: check out Genesis chapters 6-9.)

Great Sand Dunes ©WikiC

In the montane forests on the slope of Horn Peak (and Little Horn Peak) there is a Protestant Reformation-based seminary named “Sangre de Cristo Seminary”, founded by Dr. Dwight F. Zeller. (FYI: its website is http://sdcs76.org/ — which includes a music-enhanced PowerPoint slide show on its homepage.)

If you drive up to the entrance of the seminary campus, especially in the summer, roll down your car’s windows – and listen. Actually, park your car and find a “blind” where you can observe the trees around you – if you stay still for a while you are likely to see the varied bird life of those montane evergreen forests. One bird that you may hear before you see it, the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), because a stone’s throw from the seminary’s mountain road entrance, which is thick with evergreen trees, is (or at least “was” – in the late AD1990s) a tree that served as the home of a Northern Flicker family. Many summer days, during the mid-to-late AD1990s, I have found a comfortable place to sit, there – hidden — so that I could observe that Northern Flicker tree-home, without being observed by the Northern Flickers that continually went in and out, in and out, therefrom.

Northern Flicker cropped by Lee

Flickers routinely convert a tree into a tree-house!

Orni-Theology

Says ornithologist Mary Taylor Gray, in her book WATCHABLE BIRDS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS (Mountain Press Publishing, 1992), at pages 30, “Flickers nest in holes in trees, fenceposts, telephone poles and the like, excavating the nest hole by pecking. They are important homebuilders for other cavity-nesting birds who, with bills too weak to make their own holes, use those abandoned by woodpeckers. Both the male and the female flicker incubate the eggs and care for the young [hatchlings]. When the adults bring food to the nest, they light on the tree, then disappear into the nest cavity. As the babies get older, they learn to expect the parents, poking their heads out of the nest and squawking to be fed.” That description of Northern Flicker behavior (with illustrative photographs on page 31), by Mary Taylor Gray, perfectly fits what I have observed (and what my wife observed), summer after summer, at Sangre de Cristo Seminary’s campus.

But what were those woodpeckers eating?

Bugs of all kinds strive in the Sangre de Cristo montane forests, crawling on the ground and in trees and bushes – the bugs are very active there during the summer – and that’s fine for flickers! Says ornithologist Stan Tekiela, in his book BIRDS OF COLORADO FIELD GUIDE (Adventure Publications, 2001), on page 147, “The flicker is the only woodpecker to regularly feed on the ground, preferring ants and beetles. Produces antacid saliva [without the need for Nexium!] to neutralize the acidic defense of ants.” (Although such a diet would bug me, the flickers seem to enjoy it.)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) red-shafted F-left M-right ©WikiC

The two main varieties are the “red-shafted” and “yellow-shafted” forms, though hybridized versions occur where the ranges overlap, in the western edge of the great plains (where the prairies merge into the Rocky Mountains), and this Northern Flicker looked like such a hybrid. After my wife and I watched it go into its tree-hole, again and again, we suddenly learned why that tree-hole was the scene of such repeated in-and-out activity: cautiously baby flickers poked their little heads out, perhaps curious about the outside world, or maybe in hopes that the next airborne meal was soon headed home!

Northern Flicker (Female Yellow-shafted) ©WikiC

In recalling those cool summer days, when I watched for birds in the montane forests by Sangre de Cristo Seminary – sometimes with my wife, sometimes alone – I realized that all around me the hungry were being fed. Baby flickers were being fed by their woodpecker parents. But also seminary students, instructed by godly teachers, were being fed the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3, quoted in Matthew 4:4 & Luke 4:4.)

So, good eating can mean physical food (like bugs for hungry flickers!), or it can mean spiritual food (like the Holy Bible, for hungry Christians). Bon appetite!

Northern Flicker feeding baby ©WikiC

Lee’s Addition:

Thanks, James for a very interesting article to share with us. Love those Flickers.

Orni-Theology

James J. S. Johnson

Picidae – Woodpeckers

Northern Flicker – All About Birds

Northern Flicker – Wikipedia

A Diet of Jackdaws and Ravens

September 16, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) ©WikiC

A Diet of Jackdaws and Ravens

by James J. S. Johnson

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. … The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 46:1 & 46:11)

Looking at ravens, recently, I was reminded of the 46^th Psalm and a hymn that majestically paraphrases its doxological theology. Also I was reminded of the Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), which is cousin to the Raven (Corvus corax), both of which corvids range in Germany.

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) by Ray

But how are these – Psalm 46, a hymn, ravens, and jackdaws — connected?

Let’s begin with a famous hymn that paraphrases, in lyrical dignity, from the content of the 46^th Psalm. Surely you recognize these lyrics:

Luther’s Ein Feste Burg

Of course, the lyrics are penned by a Saxon theologian of the AD1500s, in German, so maybe an English translation (of that hymn’s lyrics) would be more helpful. This German hymn (“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott”) was translated into English, as early as AD1539, by Bible translator Miles Coverdale, with the title “Oure God is a defence and towre” [notice obsolete spellings of “our”, “defense”, and “tower”]. The hymn’s composition (AD1529), as well as its original melody and meter, comes to us thanks to Dr. Martin Luther, the great Reformer.

But the most familiar English translation of this heroic hymn, by Frederick Hedge (AD1853), is “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing”, which begins:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

Of course, Lutheran choirs and organists know this hymn well!

Yet how does this hymn, and its music-loving author (Dr. Martin Luther), relate to a “diet of jackdaws and ravens”?

In the year AD1530 an ecclesiastical confrontation was scheduled to occur at Augsburg (a city in Bavaria, Germany), but Dr. Luther was persuaded to stay behind – mostly for his personal safety’s sake – in Coburg (a town of Bavaria, near Augsburg) because Luther was declared an “outlaw” at the Diet of Worms, so he was an unprotected target). So Luther staid there, writing to his friend Philip Melanchthon (and others), as Luther waited for the next important event to occur in Germany’s (and Europe’s) Reformation. But Luther was not one who would contently wait while others battled – and the controversy would have reminded Luther of prior confrontations that he had personally experienced, in defense and promotion of Luther’s Bible-based faith.

Martin Luther by Cranach restoration ©WikiC

While in Coburg, therefore, Luther’s imagination could picture the clutter and cawing of agenda-driven clergymen (and bustling government officials) who were gathering, in Augsburg, to cluck about theological controversies, at what would be a hotly contested “diet” (conference of representative delegates). Luther could easily imagine the conspiring conversations of the corrupt clergymen who would soon be attending and arguing at the Augsburg “diet”, seeking to ensnare Melanchthon and Luther’s other Protestant allies.

In Barnas Seares’ biography of Dr. Luther, titled THE LIFE OF LUTHER, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS EARLIER PERIODS AND THE OPENING SCENES OF THE REFORMATION (American Sunday-School Press, 1850; 2010 reprint by Attic Books), he describes how Luther’s birdwatching provoked memories of prior confrontational conferences:

“A mind like Luther’s could not remain inactive, and, for want of other employment, he suffered his fancy to picture to itself a diet of birds, as he saw them congregate before his window, much as he saw persecuting bishops in the huntsmen and hounds while engaged in the chase at Wartburg [where Luther was sequestered, hidden from his persecutors, during the time Luther translated the Bible in German]. The reader will easily recognize the satire. The sportive letter [written by Luther] was addressed to his table companions at Wittenberg, and reads thus:

Common Ravens Feeding ©WikiC

‘Grace and peace in Christ, dear friends. … [Luther then explains that he and two other men] do not go to the Augsburg diet, though we are attending another one in this place. There is, directly before my window, a grove where the jackdaws and ravens have appointed a diet; and there is such a coming and going, and such a hubbub, day and night, that you would think them all tipsy. Old and young keep up such a cackling, that I wonder how their breath holds out so long. I should like to know if there are any of these nobles and knights with you, for it seemeth to me that all in the world are gathered together here. I have not yet seen their emperor, but the nobles and great ones are all the time moving and frisking before us; not gayly attired, but of one uniform colour, all black and all gray-eyed. They all sing the same song, though with the pleasing diversity of young and old, great and small. They pay no regard to the great palace and hall, for their hall hath the high blue heavens for its ceiling, the ground for its floor, the beautiful green branches for its paneling, and the ends of the world for its walls. They don’t trouble themselves about horses and wagons, for they have winged wheels wherewith to escape from fire-arms. They are great and mighty lords; but what decisions they come [to] I know not. But, so far as I can learn through an interpreter, they meditate a mighty crusade against wheat, barley, oats, malt, and all kinds of corn and grain, and there is here many a hero, who will perform great deeds. … I consider all these nothing but the sophists and papists, with their preachers and secretaries, and must have them all before me thus at once, that I may hear their lovely voices and their preaching, and see how useful a class they are, to devour all that the earth bringeth forth, and cackle for it a while.’” [Quoting Luther, as quoted within Sears, at pages 449-451, with emphasis added.]

Jackdaws at Herstmonceux Castle

Somehow the busy yacking and cawing of the jackdaws and ravens, in Coburg, reminded Dr. Luther of the conspiring ecclesiastical kleptocrats whom he observed (and contended with), those crooked racketeers famous for grabbing (but not for giving) — just as jackdaws and ravens are famous for shamelessly raiding the crop-fields that others work long and hard to produce food from. (See 1^st Peter 5:2-3; some things don’t change much!)

Quite a “diet”, pardon the pun.

James J. S. Johnson’s Articles

Orni-Theology

Jackdaw and Raven Corvidae Family

Birdwatching on Danish Zealand: Remembering a Sandwich Tern, at Hamlet’s Castle

September 7, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

Birdwatching on Danish Zealand:

Remembering a Sandwich Tern, at Hamlet’s Castle

~By James J. S. Johnson

(Photo taken from http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14567172.jpg )

This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:18)

Sandwich Tern

(picture taken from http://blog.fuertecharter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/F295_Dibujo_01.jpg)

The SANDWICH TERN (Thalasseus sanvicensis) is, as its name suggests, a member of the “tern” [Sternidae] family of seagulls. (The term “Sandwich” refers to Sandwich, in Kent, western England, where this tern was formally identified in AD1787 by ornithologist-physician John Latham, MD.)

The Sandwich Tern is medium-to-large in size (for a tern), with a fairly large head (for a tern), a long thin bill, and a relatively short tail. It may grow to 16 inches in length and 36 inches in wingspan (!), so it is obviously designed for aerodynamic flight – well-fitted for flying above its oceanic and coastland habitats. Its thin bill is black, with a “butter-yellow” tip. The Sandwich Tern is mostly white, appearing whiter (especially from a distance) than the Common Tern and Arctic Tern; it has greyish-white wings and (top) tail feathers. The newer feathers, produced according to the tern’s molting cycle, are more greyish in color. The top and back of its flat-crowned head is black. It has short black legs.

Sandwich Terns are sociable, nesting in densely packed colonies, sometimes mixed with other terns and small seagulls. [See Chris Kightley, Steve Madge, & Dave Nurney, POCKET GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND NORTH-WEST EUROPE (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), page 150.]

Some consider the Cabot’s Tern of North America, which winters in and near the Caribbean (including Florida), as a close cousin of the Sandwich Tern.

Photo taken from http://www.birdsoman.com/Birds/061-Gulls/SandwichTern/SandwichTern-19098.jpg

The Sandwich Tern’s summer range is predominantly coastal – not surprising for a tern, with its most populous summer range includes various coastal shores of the British Isles (England, Scotland, Orkney, Hebrides, Ireland — but not Wales), Holland (where it is called Grote stern), and Denmark (where it is called Splitterne), especially from late March through early October. (Sandwich Terns are known to winter in various coastal areas of North Africa.)

Besides those coastlands, the Sandwich Tern is also known as a summer visitor in parts of France (where it is called Sterne caugek), Estonia, Belgium, and Germany (where it is called Brandseeschwalbe). Its migratory travels allow it to be observed in other countries as well, such as Poland (breeding), Sweden (where it is called Kentsk tärna – often seen where Sweden almost touches Denmark), Norway (as a “vagrant”), Spain’s Mediterranean coast, and even northeastern Italy. [See Roger Tory Peterson, Guy Mountfort, & P. A. D. Hollom, A FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE, 5^th edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993), page 134 & Range Map 174.]

SandwichTern – Cemlyn Lagoon Anglesy

[ photo taken from https://ateambirding.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/0611-sandwich-tern-cemlyn-lagoon-anglesy-29th-june-2013-img_6143.jpg ]

Like other terns (and gulls and fulmars, etc.), Sandwich Terns enjoy eating fish! Sandwich Terns catch their piscatorial repast by plunge-diving into the ocean. (Occasionally they frequent lakes and ponds near coastlines, so lacustrine fish are also vulnerable to terns who elect to “go fishing” there.)

Sandwich Tern ©Jürgen Reich

[Photo taken from http://www.helcom.fi/PublishingImages/baltic-sea-trends/environment-fact-sheets/latest-fact-sheets/population-development-of-sandwich-tern/Brandseeschwalben%20J%C3%BCrgen%20Reich_1.jpg ]

In addition to the shorelands of the British Isles, some parts of the Baltic Sea’s western coastline also host Sandwich Terns in the summer – including the shores at and near “Hamlet’s Castle” in Helsingør, in eastern Denmark. In fact, it was at “Hamlet’s Castle” where I saw a Sandwich Tern on the 4^th of July in AD2006.

Medieval castle at Helsingør (on the island of Zealand)

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronborg#/media/File:Helsingoer_Kronborg_Castle.jpg

Why is the medieval castle at Helsingør (on the island of Zealand, at the narrowest part of the strait of Øresund, which strait separated Denmark and Sweden), built back in the AD1420s (by the Kalmar Union triple-crown king, Eirik, “king of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, king of the Wends and the Goths, and Duke of Pomerania”), called “Hamlet’s Castle”?

“Shakespeare brought Kronborg Slot [i.e., Kronborg Castle] world renown as the [fictional] backdrop of his ‘HAMLET’. Most of the magnificent Renaissance castle, which has had its present appearance since 1585, is accessible to the public.” [Quoting Reinhard Ilg, JOURNEY THROUGH DENMARK (Stürtz, 2002; translation by Faith Gibson Tegethoff; photos by Tina Herzig & Horst Herzig), page 46.]

Kronborg Castle

[ photo taken from http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/2765/tdanny_denmark_kronborg_1.jpg ]

In Shakespeare’s famous play, HAMLET, the fundamental question of life is asked, “To be, or not to be?” This is a fundamental question for every human being, yet it was beforehand a fundamental question that was considered and decided by God Himself, when He chose to give each one of us the lives we call our own. Why? While Shakespeare’s character Hamlet considered the grave question of whether to end his earthly existence with the famous words “to be, or not to be”, the choice even more basic than that was God’s sovereign decision to create us “to be” in the first place! [See, regarding this great question of life, considered with Psalm 102:18, http://www.icr.org/article/people-yet-be-created/ .

Just as the Lord chose to imagine and invent the maritime birds that we call Sandwich Terns, of His own beneficent and sovereign volition, He chose to imagine and invent us, as the specific (and unique) humans who each one of us is. What a choice God made, when He did so!

And, knowing that we needed redemption, as human sinners descended from Adam, God also foresaw the need for the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer – so He planned for Christ’s Messiahship – long before we ever were created as the individuals we are (John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1^st Peter 1:20) – all wonderful Bible verses, that Bob Webel taught me as a teenager!).

It is God’s providential grace and kindness that He chose to make us. It is even more grace and kindness that He provided redemption in Christ to save us! How should we then live, to appreciate Him for Who He is – that is the question, that (by God’s grace) our lives must daily answer!

This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:18)

Orni-Theology

James J. S. Johnson

People Yet To Be Created

Sandwich Terns – All About Birds

Sandwich Tern – Wikipedia

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 5)

August 25, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 5)

by James J. S. Johnson

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

This is the fifth and last article in this “Flag that bird!” series, on various birds that appear on national flags. (In other words, this is this mini-series’ “swan song”.)

All of us know enthusiasm-fueled folks who proudly launch into a new project – yet they soon falter, when the initial excitement fizzles, and they somehow fail to employ the prolonged patience to follow a long-term project through to completion. (But, as we all know, “a job half-done is a job undone”.) Thankfully, this blogsite mini-series, on “flag birds”, has now reached its proper closure! Of course, there are other flags (such as state and provincial flags) that depict birds, but this set of articles has predominantly focused on birds portrayed on national flags. Accordingly, as promised before, this final sequel features two huge birds, a swan and a crane, plus another bird whose identity is less than fully certain.

For a quick review, these vexillology-related birds were previously featured, as follows:

Part 1, posted at Flag That Bird – Part 1 — Belgium’s Wallonian Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus); Portugal’s Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis); Burma’s Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus); and Dominica’s Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis);

Part 2, posted at Flag That Bird – Part 2 — the British Antarctic Territory’s Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), and the Saint Helena Plover, a/k/a Saint Helena’s skinny-legged “Wirebird” (Charadrius sanctaehelenae);

Part 3, posted at Flag That Bird – Part 3 — Kiribati’s Great Frigatebird Emperor Penguin (Fregata minor); and

Part 4, posted at Flag That Bird – Part 4 — Papua New Guinea’s Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana, f/k/a Gerrus paradisaea), and the ubiquitous Dove, best illustrated by the common pigeon, a/k/a Rock Dove (Columbia livia).

In this article, three remaining birds will be introduced: (1) the black swan of Western Australia (Cygnus atratus); (2) the black and white “piping shrike” of South Australia, the exact identity of which is questionable, although this article will assume it is the same bird as the Australian magpie, perhaps more particularly the subspecies known as Cracticus tibicen telonocua, f/k/a Gymnorhina tibicen leuconota (e.g., by explorer Charles Sturt); and (3) Uganda’s crested crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps).

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus).

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Ruffled ©WikiC

Western Australia’s Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) appears on the official state flag of Western Australia (sometimes contracted as “Westralia”), which occupies the western third (i.e., almost a million square miles) of that island-continent country. The Black Swan also presents prominently on Western Australia’s official coat-of-arms, flanked by two kangaroos.

The Black Swan is well-named – their feathers are black (or black-grey, depending on how the sun shines on them), with a few white flight feathers. Their bills are mostly bright scarlet, with a whitish bar near the tip. And they are huge birds – adults can weigh between 8 to almost 20 pounds! The wingspan breadth is between 5 to 6½ feet, like the length of a human lying down! Their babies (called “cygnets”), however, are fuzzy white chicks, with dark bills, cute as they can be.

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) with Cygnets ©WashPost

The first time that I ever saw Black Swans, excluding the confined context of a zoo’s aviary, was at The Broadmoor hotel complex in Colorado (located at the edge of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, within view of Pike’s Peak – an area perfect for viewing magpies). But the Black Swan is not native to North America – it is an Aussie native.

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) with Cygnets ©Broadmoor

Like other swans (e.g., the Trumpeter Swan, described at Trumpeting A Wildlife Conservation Comeback, its neck is S-curved and very long – in fact, the Black Swan has the longest neck of any swan.

Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen, a/k/a Gymnorhina tibicen).

The official state flag of South Australia features a bird called a “piping shrike”, but what bird is that? Many have analytically identified it as the species now called the Australian Magpie, (Cracticus tibicen), perhaps more particularly the subspecies once called the “White-backed Crow Shrike”, which his now called the white-backed magpie (Cracticus tibicen telonocua, f/k/a Gymnorhina tibicen leuconota).

The Australian Magpie has several subspecies nowadays, nine according to some taxonomists – although ornithologists know that such lump-or-split classifications are vulnerable to slippery subjectivities. [For an insight into the arbitrary subjectivity of “lumper”-versus-“splitter” taxonomy, see Footnote #2 within http://www.icr.org/article/valuing-gods-variety .]

Australia Magpie on Dead Branch ©WikiC

The Australian Magpie is deemed a type of “butcherbird” as opposed to the “corvid” category that includes the “magpies” of Europe and America. The Australian Magpie is famous for its singing, entertaining (those with ears to hear) with a complex repertoire of vocalizations. The black-and-white opportunist has habituated to human-dominated habitats, such as the agricultural fields of farms, gardens, and even wooded parklands.

Australia Magpie ©WikiC

The Australian Magpie is not a picky eater – its diet includes both plants and animals. Its preferred diet, however, is dominated by a variety of larval and adult invertebrates, such as insects (like ants, moths, beetles, bees, wasps, cockroaches) and arachnids (like spiders, scorpions), as well as earthworms, millipedes. The Australian Magpie is also known to eat some small vertebrates, such as rodents (like mice), lizards (like skinks), and/or amphibians (like frogs and toads).

Some compare the problem-solving resourcefulness and the brash cockiness – of this bird – to the national “reputation” displayed by many Aussie ex-patriots. (Maybe Ken Ham should set the record straight on that topic!) The Australian Magpie is quite a clever problem-solver — it has been observed breaking off the stingers of bees and wasps, before swallowing such otherwise-dangerous bugs! The Australian Magpie is not timid – it will defend its territory against raptors trespassing therein, such as Brown Goshawks.

Crested Crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps).

The official flag of Uganda sports a stylized depiction of a Crested Crane, a/k/a “East African Crowned Crane” (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps), which is a subspecies of the Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum). The same crane appears on the Ugandan coat-of-arms.

The Ugandan coat-of-arms provides a more realistic picture of a Crested Crane.

The East African Crowned Crane (a/k/a Crested Crane) is a tall bird, standing up to 4 feet tall! It can weigh 6 to 8 pounds, while sporting a wingspan breadth of 6½ feet. The plumage is dominated by slate-grey feathers, with wing feathers of white and chestnut orange. The Crested Crane’s black head is adorned by white cheeks (accented with red) and a showy 3D “fan” crest, of golden top feathers, somewhat resembling fireworks.

Grey Crowned Crane ©WikiC

Cranes – of various species – are famous for their long necks and long thin legs. Unlike herons (which fly with their necks “pulled back”), the Crested Crane (like other cranes) flies with its neck straightened and outstretched. Like other cranes, the Crested Crane is gregarious – their aggregate nesting territories may host a flock of up to 200 residents. These cranes are typically monogamous and territorial. These socially stable birds are known to live as long as 20 to even 40 years of age.

In the wild, the Created Crane eats a mix of seeds (such as grains), other plant materials, insects, and worms. Other foods eaten include eggs and fish, and even small lizards and frogs. This diet is similar to the diet of other cranes (e.g., Sandhill Crane, Whooping Crane, Common Crane, etc.) around the world. Cranes routinely eat whatever is available and convenient, so cranes are classified as “opportunist” feeders – consuming small mammals (like rodents), fish, snails, amphibians (like frogs), worms, insects, seeds (like grains, nuts, acorns), berries, root vegetables, and other plant materials (such as leaves. As a matter of biome ecology, most cranes prefer wetlands, such as mudflats and other shorelands, or in wide open fields, such as prairies.

Common Crane in Estonia Wetland ©WikiC

The “Common Crane” (Grus grus) is a cousin the these African cranes. The Common Crane has a summer range, typically boreal forests (called taiga in Russia) that covered most of the top half of Eurasia, with blotches of winter ranges in Europe (Spain), Asia (e.g., China), and parts of Africa.

The zoologist George Cansdale [see his ALL THE ANIMALS OF THE BIBLE LANDS, pages 158-159] – after analyzing the mix of Biblical, ornithological, and biogeographical evidence – concludes that the Hebrew noun ‘agûr (e.g., in Jeremiah 8:7 & Isaiah 38:14) refers to the noisy Common Crane (Grus grus), an identification that the learned Hebrew scholar John Joseph Owens concurs with [see his ANALYTICAL KEY TO THE OLD TESTAMENT, volume 4, pages 116 & 242]. Matching the ‘agûr of Isaiah 38:14, the Common Crane is clamorously noisy, especially when agitated. Cranes are also phenological migrants, a trait that accords with Jeremiah 8:7.

A review of our introductory verse provides another insight, the contrast between patience and pride:

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

In Ecclesiastes 7:8 the Hebrew adjective translated “patient” is ’erek – it denotes someone or something that is prolonged, drawn out, slow, longsuffering. Accordingly, to be “patient in spirit” is to be willing to wait one’s turn, according to God’s providential line-up (and timing). A humble person doesn’t butt in line; he or she patiently waits in the queue, for his or her turn.

In Ecclesiastes 7:8 the Hebrew adjective translated “proud” is gabah — it denotes someone or something that is high, haughty, or high-minded, in some contexts what we sometimes call “uppity”. Accordingly, to be “proud in spirit” is to regard one’s self as higher that one should, which is the opposite of what God (through Paul) commands us to be:

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each [i.e., all of us] esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Interestingly, humility and patience go well together, because accomplishing a long-term project often requires interacting successfully with other people, and getting other people to coöperate with you (so that your goals can be furthered) routinely requires you to serve their needs and goals. This is called mutual symbiosis when we see it in birds; we call it “win-win” coöperation when humans do it. In win-win situations the coöperating parties both further their respective goals, so their interactive relationship is not one-sided. (Contrast this with “parasite”-like people, who habitually take, but won’t give).

Unsurprisingly those who are haughty-minded, being selfish, are slow to appreciate this life principle, because “uppity” people cannot understand or accept the law of Acts 20:35, that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (quoting the Lord Jesus Christ Himself). Consequently, many who could help them, with their project checklists, may shy away – why host a parasite? And so it is that many who are haughty are proud to assertively start – yet don’t finish – complex projects that require prolonged patience. Why? Part of the cost of succeeding was the cost of benefiting others who contribute to the project. The end is predictable: failure and shame.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (Luke 14:28)

A sober lesson for long-term projects (including long-term relationships)! Yet, this is a lesson much needed in America, nowadays, where impatient and high-minded “get-rich-quick” tactics all-too-often end in disappointment and discord. (This author has seen many illustrations of this in business bankruptcy cases and in employment law contexts.)

In sum, thankfully, this “flags” the end of this mini-series on national vexillology-related birds.

“Flag That Bird!”—(Part 1) ~ (Part 2) ~ (Part 3) ~ (Part 4)

Orni-Theology

James J. S. Johnson’s Articles

Trumpeter Swans: Trumpeting a Wildlife Conservation Comeback

August 21, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

If a bird’s nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree, or upon the ground, whether they be young ones [i.e., nestling infant birds], or eggs [i.e., not-yet-hatched baby birds], and the mother [’em is the usual Hebrew noun for “mother”] sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. But you shall surely send forth the mother, and take the young [literally “children”] for yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong days. Deuteronomy 22:6-7

During mid-August (AD2015) my wife and I visited the Columbus Zoo (in Ohio), while vacationing, and I was surprised to see Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) there — and I realized that the Trumpeter Swan illustrated the importance of Deuteronomy 22:6-7.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) ©Columbus Zoo

Seeing the snowy-white Trumpeter Swans, there, occurred during a telephone call, while we were viewing and identifying various animals, with our enthusiasm-exuding Ohio grandsons (who both call us Mimi and Farfar, the latter name being Norwegian for “father’s father”). The unexpected telephone call came from a caller in crisis, seeking legal advice, on how to interpret and apply a mix of federal statutes. It appeared that the call could not wait, till I returned to Texas – such is the lot and responsibility of a vacationing lawyer.

But a bird-watcher has his priorities! So, as we rounded a bend in the walking trail, and I saw a couple of Trumpeter Swans, I interrupted the phone call with “hold on just a minute”, then I half-screamed to the grandsons: “Look, boys – Trumpeter Swans! Look! Trumpeter Swans!”

Seeing these massive swans, up close, helps you to appreciate how huge they are. Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest of all birds that are “native” to North America – and one of the heaviest birds, alive today, that is capable of flight! Unlike other swans, the Trumpeter Swan has a distinctively black bill, a stark contrast to the all-white hue of its adult plumage.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) ©USFWS

The Trumpeter is a close cousin of Eurasia’s Whooper Swan [Cygnus cygnus], which I previously commented on, in an earlier blogpost about birdwatching in Iceland (please check out https://leesbird.com/2014/12/08/birdwatching-in-iceland-part-i/ .) The Trumpeter Swans did not “trumpet” while we observed them; however, their name is due to their habit of loudly vocalizing with a musical sound like a trumpet, similar to the vocal sounds of their Cygninae cousins, the Whooper Swans and Bewick Swans. Swans are shaped somewhat like geese, but swans grow larger and have longer (and proportionately thinner) necks. The poise and posture of swans, accented by their flexible and long necks, appear more elegant than that of geese, some say, although surely mama geese would disagree. Why are swan necks so lengthy and versatile? Imagine being nick-named “Edith Swan-neck” — that is the name by which historians remember the wife and widow of England’s last Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, who lost the Battle of Hastings to William the Conqueror, in AD1066. [ For more on that providentially historic battle, see http://www.norwegiansocietyoftexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/VikingHistory-GeoWash-ancestry-NST-AD2012.pdf . ] Geese have 17 to 23 neck vertebrae, yet swans have 24 or more! Trumpeters also bob their heads a lot, apparently as a form of visual communication with one another.

Back to the very busy (and very tiring) adventure at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.

As we all excitedly discussed the Trumpeter Swans, so close to us then, my mind recalled how these quietly graceful and magnificently dignified swans were once very close to the extinction cliff. According to one study (by Banko, cited below), in AD1957, the United States then hosted only 488 Trumpeter Swans. It got even worse! In AD1932, fewer than 70 Trumpeter Swans were known to exist in all of America, with about half of them dwelling at or near Yellowstone National Park’s northwest section. Would the Trumpeter Swan go extinct like the Passenger Pigeon and the Dodo bird?

What a loss it would have been, if our earthly home had seen a permanent demise of such noble anatids, especially since they once teemed when America was founded!

Trumpeter Swans were once hunted in huge numbers – thousands were killed for their skins and/or feathers. Sir John Richardson (a Scottish scientist/surgeon who studied the Trumpeter extensively) once wrote that the Trumpeter Swan was “the most common Swan in the interior of the fur-counties. … It is to the trumpeter that the bulk of the Swan-skins imported by the Hudson’s Bay Company belong” [as quoted in Winston E. Banko, “The Trumpeter Swan: Its History, Habits, and Population in the United States”, North American Fauna, 63:1-214 (April 1960), a data-source used for much of this article]. The Trumpeter Swan was well-known of its migratory habits, ranging from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, according to ornithologist James Audubon:

“The Trumpeter Swans make their appearance on the lower portions of the waters of the Ohio about the end of October. They throw themselves at once into the larger ponds or lakes at no great distance from the river, giving a marked preference to those which are closely surrounded by dense and tall canebrakes, and there remain until the water is closed by ice, when they are forced to proceed southward. During mild winters I have seen Swans of this species in the ponds about Henderson [Kentucky] until the beginning of March, but only a few individuals, which may have stayed there to recover from their wounds. When the cold became intense, most of those which visited the Ohio would remove to the Mississippi, and proceed down that stream as the severity of the weather increased, or return if it diminished. . . . I have traced the winter migrations of this species as far southward as the Texas, where it is abundant at times, . . . At New Orleans . . . the Trumpeters are frequently exposed for sale in the markets, being procured on the ponds of the interior, and on the great lakes leading to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. . . . The waters of the Arkansas and its tributaries are annually supplied with Trumpeter Swans, and the largest individual which I have examined was shot on a lake near the junction of that river with the Mississippi. It measured nearly ten feet in alar extent, and weighed above thirty-eight pounds.” [Quotation taken from Banko, on page 15.]

During AD1862 George Barnston, a Scottish-born Hudson’s Bay Company official in Canada, noticed the Trumpeter Swan’s remarkable migration habit, as it is seen in America’s Northwest:

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) and Canadian Geese ©WikiC

“In the winter months all the northern regions are deserted by the swans, and from November to April large flocks are to be seen on the expanses of the large rivers of the Oregon territory and California, between the Cascade Range and the Pacific where the climate is particularly mild, and their favourite food abounds in the lakes and placid waters. Collected sometimes in great numbers, their silvery strings embellish the landscape, and form a part of the life and majesty of the scene.” [Quotation taken from Banko, on page 17.]

Records indicate that Trumpeter Swans were still present in “the states of Washington, Oregon, and California in the Pacific flyway ; Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, Icansas, and Texas in the Central flyway ; Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana in the Mississippi flyway ; and Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina in the Atlantic flyway to demonstrate that the trumpeter still appeared as a migrant or winter resident in those states during the last half of the 19th century”, according to Banko (at page 20). Banko further reported, in AD1960, that the marketable feathers of swans historically superceded the marketing of their skins (especially by the Hudson’s Bay Company), and soon the population numbers of North American swans were plummeting as swan feathers gained popularity as a glamorous ingredient in fancy hats for ladies, with less flamboyant quills being marketed as ink-pens. Even the famous Audubon, in AD1828, observed that American Indians engaged in swan hunts, in order to gain the prized plumage of these wondrous waterfowl, many of which feathers would ultimately be exported for resale to ladies of fashion in Europe! (Banko once served as Refuge Manager, Branch of Wildlife Refuges, for the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish & Wildlife Service).

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) ©WikiC naturespicsonline

As transatlantic trade in fancy feathers burgeoned, the marketing of Trumpeter Swan plumage (as well as plumage of other large birds, such as flamingo, egret, heron, and many others), for fashionable female headgear, was driving the North American population of Trumpeter Swans toward regional extirpations and appeared aimed at a continental extinction, — unless regulatory brakes were somehow applied, with ameliorative conservation efforts to restore the population.

Many conservation efforts combined, to rescue the Trumpeter Swan’s perilous predicament, four of which were: (1) the Lacey Act of 1900, that banned trafficking in illegal wildlife; (2) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, that implemented the migratory bird protection “convention” treaty, of AD1916, between America and Great Britain (f/b/o Canada); (3) President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 7023 (4-22-AD1935); and (4) the conservation-funding statute called the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration [Pittman-Robertson] Act of 1937. For more on this last federal wildlife conservation-funding law, please review “Crayfish, Caribou, and Scientific Evidence in the Wild”, posted at http://www.icr.org/article/8775 ).

Saving America’s Trumpeter Swan from near-extinction is largely due – humanly speaking – to the establishment of the Red Rock Lakes Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (n/k/a “Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge”), part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem — located mostly within a 60-mile radius that includes portions of southwestern Montana, eastern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming, including Yellowstone National Park, which itself includes a “Trumpeter Lake”. The Trumpeters have enjoyed dwelling in the Red Rock Lakes neighborhood for generations — for example, an aerial photograph during January AD1956 shows 80 of them on Culver Pond (east Culver Spring area, where warm spring waters, often found in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, keep the pond from freezing), on a day when the outside air was -20 degrees Fahrenheit! (See page 59 of Banko’s report, cited above.) This federal wildlife refuge was established by FDR’s presidential executive order (#7023), in AD1935, largely in reaction to the nadir-number of Trumpeter Swan count of less than 70 during AD1932.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) by Daves BirdingPix

According to the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge’s official website (q.v., at http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Red_Rock_Lakes/about.html), this refuge now includes 51,386 acres, plus conservation easements totaling 23,806 acres, all of which blends into a marvelous mix of snowmelt-watered mountains, montane forests, flowing freshwater, and marshy meadows:

“Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge has often been called the most beautiful national wildlife refuge in the United States. The rugged Centennial Mountains, rising to more than 10,000 feet, provide a dramatic backdrop for this extremely remote Refuge in Southwest Montana’s Centennial Valley. Red Rock Lakes NWR encompasses primarily high mountain, wetland-riparian habitat–the largest in the Greater Yellowstone Area– and is located near the headwaters of the Missouri River. Several creeks flow into the refuge, creating the impressive Upper Red Rock Lake, River Marsh, and Lower Red Rock Lake. The snows of winter replenish the refuge’s lakes and wetlands that provide secluded habitat for many wetland birds, including the trumpeter swan, white-faced ibis, and black-crowned night herons. The Refuge also includes wet meadows, willow riparian, grasslands, and forest habitats. This [ecological] diversity provides habitat for other species such as sandhill cranes, long-billed curlews, peregrine falcons, eagles, hawks, moose, badgers, bears, wolves, pronghorns and native fish such as Arctic grayling and westslope cutthroat trout.” [Quoting from http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Red_Rock_Lakes/about.html ]

Trumpeter Swans are also seen afloat in lakes of Wyoming’s neighboring park, Grand Teton National Park, a scenic mountain-dominated park accented by the Snake River and Jackson Lake, and historically enjoyed, annually (in the summer), by many bankruptcy barristers (and their families), as they simultaneously attended the Norton Bankruptcy Law Institutes at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Trumpeter pairs are often seen as isolated pairs, each “owning” its own lake, yet these swans also congregate in gregarious flocks, especially in the Red Rock Lakes area.

[Canadians, especially in British Columbia and Alberta, have also been intensively involved in serious efforts to conserve Canada’s population of Trumpeter Swans, for more than 65 years – but this birding report mostly notices and focuses on the Trumpeter conservation efforts in the United States.]

Has FDR’s Executive Order 7023 been followed by conservation and restoration success, for the Trumpeter Swan? The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website reports a happy “yes”:

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) by Kent Nickel

“In 1932, fewer than 70 trumpeters were known to exist worldwide, at a location near Yellowstone National Park. This led to the establishment of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in 1935. Red Rock Lakes is located in Montana’s Centennial Valley and is part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Nearly half of the known trumpeter swans in 1932 were found in this area. Warm springs provide year-round open waters where swans find food and cover even in the coldest weather. Today, estimates show about 46,225 trumpeter swans reside in North America, including some 26,790 in the Pacific Coast population (Alaska, Yukon, and NW British Columbia) which winter on the Pacific Coast; 8,950 in Canada; about 9,809 in the Midwest; and about 487 in the tri-state area of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana (including the Red Rock Lakes refuge flock).” [Quoting from http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Red_Rock_Lakes/about.html ]

Sounds like a winner to me — from less than 70 to more than 46,000!

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) cygnets ©USFWS

However, if only the wildlife conservation principle of Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (i.e., you can take the eggs and nestlings, but not the adult mother birds) had been practiced in North America, during the past 2 or 3 centuries, the continent’s Trumpeter Swan population would never have gotten so close to extinction. Moses not only mandated restrictions on excessively hunting avian wildlife (Deuteronomy 22:6-7), Moses also banned imprudent deforestation (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). Of course, creation conservation laws are always balanced to value human life over nonhuman life forms (Matthew 6:26-30; Psalm 8; Jonah 4:8-11). Yet the promulgated priority of stewardly usage of God’s creation – because all of creation is God’s property, ultimately, not ours! — traces all the way back to Creation Week, because even Adam was put into Eden “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15), and Noah managed the greatest biodiversity protection project ever (Genesis chapters 6-9).

Humans have been eating domesticated birds, such as chicken and turkey, ever since Noah’s family disembarked the Ark (Genesis 9:3). People who raise domesticated fowl (such as chickens) are careful to preserve enough breeders so that they don’t eat up all of their fowl. [This illustrates the old adage about balancing give and take: if your input exceeds your output, your upkeep is your downfall!] Accordingly, chicken farmers avoid eating all of their chickens — it’s important to protect the reproductive success of your chickens if you want poultry eggs and/or chicken meat to eat, on a continuing basis! But what about wild birds? The private ownership principle that guides common sense, in raising chickens and other domesticated fowl, doesn’t work so well with wild birds (especially migratory birds), because they are not privately “owned” – so they are a “public” resource vulnerable to irresponsible “tragedy-of-the-commons” depletion.

And most swans are wild, so greedy over-hunting can endanger their population success.

Providentially, the eating of wild birds, such as wild swans, was restricted under Mosaic law, for good reason — wild bird populations can be extinguished if one generation of hunters gets too greedy.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) on nest ©USFWS

If a bird’s nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree, or upon the ground, whether they be young one [i.e., nestling infant birds], or eggs [i.e., not-yet-hatched baby birds], and the mother [’em is the usual Hebrew noun for “mother”] sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. But you shall surely send forth the mother, and take the young [literally “children”] for yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong days. Deuteronomy 22:6-7

This is a simple law of predator-prey dynamics: if the predator population (i.e., the “eaters”) consume too many of the prey population (i.e., the “eatees”), the result is bad for both populations, because the prey population experiences negative population growth, a trend that can lead to its reproductive failure (and extirpation) if the excessive predation continues unabated.

Each generation of humans, therefore, needs to exercise wise stewardship of Earth’s food resources, so that adequate food resources will be available of posterity (i.e., later generations). When greed leads to over-hunting, the foreseeable consequence is bad for both the birds (whose population declines, generationally) and the humans (whose food resources decline, generationally).

Sad to say, mankind’s track record for respecting and heeding God’s Word, as it teaches us to be godly stewards of His creation (and to use it in ways that glorify Him, its rightful and only true Owner), all-too-often misses the mark (Romans 3:23).

What slow learners we all-too-often are! [For Genesis-based ecology perspectives, for this fallen “groaning” world, see http://www.icr.org/article/misreading-earths-groanings-why-evolutionists/ and http://www.icr.org/article/7486/ and http://www.icr.org/article/genesis-science-practical-not-just/ and http://www.icr.org/article/why-we-want-go-home/ .]

Meanwhile, may God have mercy on the people of America, by restoring to us a serious and reverent respect for the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), that He has given us in the Holy Bible, His holy Word. Only then, as we heartily heed His Word, will we properly appreciate and rightly treat His creation, including the Trumpeter Swan. And, only then, will we properly revere and appreciate Him as our Creator (and Redeemer). And living life responsibly on His earth, with that kind of reverence, would be far better than the fanciest feather in anyone’s cap!

by James J. S. Johnson

Here’s Seed for Thought

July 4, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

National Aviary – Outside feeder

Here’s Seed for Thought

By James J. S. Johnson

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. (1st Peter 1:23)

Orni-Theology

God’s Word is like good seed – it transmits God’s very thoughts into new life.

If we have eyes to see it, the whole process of seed germination (in a sunflower, or in a human life) is a providential God-glorifying miracle, every time new life germinates.

Sunflowers for Bird Brains article by Dr James J S Johnson

Sunflowers [public domain]

When I see sunflowers growing in farm-fields, or elsewhere, I often recall how God sometimes uses “accidental” plantings, caused by birds who occasionally drop sunflower seeds, thereby planting a new generation of bright yellow sunflowers.

To illustrate, consider this poem, written almost 20 years ago.

BACKYARD BIRDS AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS

Seeing hungry backyard birds
I filled a tray with seeds;
Sparrows, juncos dined in “herds”,
and jays arrived to feed;
Even cardinals, flashing red:
they came, they saw, they fed.

Bills gulped! seed-hulls popped!
Some seeds spilled! some seeds dropped!
Overhead, as some bird flew,
sunflower seeds did fall;
From green vines, they later grew,
seedlings, green and small.

Then out popped golden faces
Coloring grassy spaces;
Like baby suns of yellow,
Grinning — saying “hello”!
On green stalks they climb,
aiming to greet the sky;
Seed-packed in their prime,
picked by birds, going by.

Thus reaps my yard what jays did sow,
New seeds, from old, sunflowers grow.

Watch I, and think on what God made
How He designed such “mutual aid”…
In my backyard, I must surmise:
The Lord, Who did this, He is wise!

This poem was written when I lived in Carrollton, Texas, where I grew sunflowers by our backyard’s western fence, with the help of blue jay “planters” – but, of course, God gave the increase (1st Corinthians 3:7). (Those were the days, now like a faded dream gone by, when I taught ornithology and avian conservation at Dallas Christian College.)

Ruby-throated on Sunflower ©©Frank Boston

So, when you see bright-colored sunflowers — and the hungry birds who eat them, just remember this: those same birds, or their parents, may have “accidently” planted the very seeds that germinated into the full-grown sunflowers that the birds now eat from!

Also, remember this also: God shows His wisdom and goodness, everywhere you look, — if you have the eyes to see it.

Furthermore, even more important, of course, is this: that “incorruptible seed” (to use the apostle Peter’s phrase) — that we call the Holy Bible – is the eternal Word of God, and He uses its truth to give us regenerated life in our Lord Jesus Christ (Who is Himself the Messiah, the promised “Seed of Woman”, prophesied of in Genesis3:15)!

><> JJSJ

Sparrows Eating From A Sunflower ©©Sagudino Flickr

Lee’s Addition:

Thanks again, Dr. Jim. Enjoyed your poem and the application. In fact, there is a stalk or two of corn growing under my feeder because of the birds. Had a Sunflower or two last summer growing under the feeders.

Oh, that we all would feast on His Word!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) Male and Female ©WikiC

See:

Orni-Theology

James J.S. Johnson

Changed From The Inside Out

Appreciating Baltimore Orioles and My First Bird Book

June 2, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) ©USFWS

As beautiful and valuable as the Baltimore Oriole is—especially to Marylanders—God has made us children of Adam, even in our fallen (and redeemable) condition, “much better than they”. God truly cares for us and for our needs, including our need for truth and our need to belong to Him, through the saving merits of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus.

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) Male by Nature’s Hues

The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), a small migratory icterid (i.e., member of the blackbird family) is the state bird of Maryland. Adults grow to about 7 or 8 inches long. Migrating south for the winter, the Baltimore Orioles summer in most of America’s “lower 48” states, except not in the coastal southeast (from Texas’s Gulf coast up to Virginia’s coast). But the only orioles I saw were the pictures on baseball caps (and usually that came from looking at baseball cards)! As a small boy my family often listened to radio broadcasts of Baltimore Oriole baseball games.

Even the coloring of the Baltimore Oriole is appropriate, to represent the state of Maryland, because the state flag of Maryland has a combination of gold (or golden yellow), black, white, and red.

Flag of Maryland

The Baltimore Oriole has three of those four colors—but no red. Although I was physically born outside of Maryland (at a very young age!), all of my boyhood and youth (20 years) were spent somewhere within the “Old Line State”. And, as described below, it was in Maryland where I received my first bird book, as well as where I first believed in the Creator of all birds: the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is both my Creator and my Savior. In the next few paragraphs I will briefly mention my introduction to the “creation controversy”, and how that topic was linked to my first bird book.

Creation can be controversial! Learning to appreciate Genesis, and its foundational truths, has been an ongoing adventure for me. As a pre-school child I was generally taught, by my parents, that the Holy Bible was God’s Word, and that God made everything, including me. Not until kindergarten, however, would I learn that some people disagreed about God being the Creator. There was no public kindergarten (in Waldorf, Maryland) when I was old enough to attend one, so my parents enrolled me in a private kindergarten taught by a Mrs. Wheeler, a local Baptist lady who taught in her home. (Mrs. Wheeler’s faith was “different” from that of my parents, but “not in a bad way … you’ll do fine at her school”.) Mrs. Wheeler always prayed reverently and thankfully when we had snacks. Mrs. Wheeler also taught that the Bible was God’s Word.

Magnet with clips stuck to it

As a kindergartener I enjoyed learning to match words (specifically, nouns of concrete things) to alphabet letters, finding at least two words for each alphabet letter (when our class was assigned the task of finding one each!), until the letter X stumped me—x-ray was the only words that I know of, that started with an X. One day Mrs. Wheeler taught us to touch a magnet to various physical objects. Some were instantly attracted but others were not. Mrs. Wheeler’s college-attending daughter was there, that day, being home “on break”, so she was helping her mother with us kindergarteners. Probably not noticing that I was listening, the daughter asked (something like), “Why are you trying to teach them about magnets? Science like that is way over their heads. They won’t understand.” Mrs. Wheeler’s reply I will never forget: “Soon these kids will be taught that ‘science’, without God, explains life, and they will wonder if intelligent people should believe in God and the Bible. I want them to have a memory, from kindergarten, that the first person to teach them any ‘science’ was someone who believed in Jesus and the Bible, and who prayed with them.” Wow! That astounded me! When I went to “big school”, like my older brother, I would be taught to learn “science” but no Bible!—nothing about God. Why would “big school” be like that? So Mrs. Wheeler, with her daughter’s help, had just warned me that a godless version of “science” awaited me. In second grade, at Damascus (Maryland), I would learn more about this controversy.

At the end of second grade, while being given my first bird book, I learned more Genesis apologetics, from Mrs. Thelma Bumgardner (see picture of the bird book, BIRDS, A GUIDE TO THE MOST FAMILIAR AMERICAN BIRDS [NY: Golden Press/Golden Nature Guide, 1964; co-authored by Herbert S. Zim & Ira N. Gabrielson; illustrated by James Gordon Irving; 160 pages].

Guide to Most Familiar Birds

The bird book I still have, to this day (shown above, next to her obituary notice). How did it happen? Why was it so important that I remember it now, more than a half-century later? It was Mrs. Bumgardner’s custom to give a bird book to one boy and to one girl, at the end of the school year. The privileged girl was Mary Kellogg; the privileged boy was me. When explaining the gift to me Mrs. Bumgardner said that the pictures would help me to learn about many beautiful birds that God made, and that He made them to live in different kinds of places and eat different kinds of foods. Then she turned to pages 12-13, which presented an official-looking Family Tree of Birds”, beginning with this sentence: “Birds developed from reptile ancestors millions of years ago, as internal structures and scaly legs still show.” Mrs. Bumgardner said that the chart was not true, that some people who didn’t like to admit that God made birds (like the Bible said He did) invented the chart to pretend that birds accidentally become what they are by something called “evolution”. “It’s all just a lie, so they won’t have to think about Who God is”, Mrs. Bumgardner warned me, “but don’t worry about the false ideas on those two pages—just enjoy the rest of the book, because the rest of the book teaches a lot of true facts about God’s birds.” Wow! Again I was surprised—who would think that liars would put pictures in a book so they could try to forget Who God is? The bird book is a treasure I never forgot—and I love it to this day.

Perhaps you are wondering if my bird book included mention of the Baltimore Oriole. It did! On page 108, with a picture and range map, it says: “The brilliant male is a showy bird . The female is a dull orange-yellow with two pale wing bars. Bullock’s Oriole (8 in.) of the West is like the Baltimore but has orange on sides of head and over eye. The Orchard Oriole (6½ in.), east of the Rockies, is also similar, but with chestnut, not orange. The female Orchard Oriole resembles the female Baltimore but is greenish-yellow instead of orange-yellow.”

Speaking of orange, providing oranges (i.e., the citrus fruit), halved, is known to attract orioles—they love to eat fruits, such as oranges, berries, or even grape jelly. Leafy deciduous trees or thick shrub foliage might attract them to your backyard, especially if your backyard provides a “total package” of food, water, sheltering foliage, and trees suitable for their deep bag-like hanging nests. They immigrate north during in spring (late March or early April) and emigrate south in autumn.

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) on nest by Kent Nickell

Mrs. Bumgardner also taught us about John 3:16, which I would rely upon in a very personal away 3½ years later; she also would pray for us, telling us that she knew that the Supreme Court wouldn’t like that, but that the prophet Daniel was told not to pray and he did anyway—and God took care of Daniel, so He would take care of her. Still I remember knowing that Mrs. Bumgardner loved us second-graders, and she cared that we would learn to appreciate God, and it was obvious that she herself loved God and His Word. It was during the first half of my sixth grade year, however, before I would confirm my own personal belief in the Lord Jesus, as my personal Savior and Shepherd, but God foreknew that day was coming—and one day I will thank both Mrs. Wheeler and Mrs. Bumgardner, face-to-face, for caring enough to creatively teach me the truth about my Creator-God.

Meanwhile, ever since the end of second grade I have been enjoying my bird book (and many more that I have acquired since then), knowing how God cares about those beautiful birds—who have such variety. Yet He cares so much more for me (as John 3:16 proves).

What a wonderful start I was given to a happy habit of birdwatching (decades before I would ever teach ornithology at Dallas Christian College), — and Mrs. Bumgardner’s bird book disclaimer, by God’s providence, foreshadowed my later years as a teacher of Genesis-based creation studies!

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) Female by Nature’s Hues

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 4)

April 29, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 4)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; unto him who overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

Orni-Theology

The time will eventually come when the words “tree” and “paradise” coincide, in a truly heavenly way. But until then, we do have a bird of “paradise” that is known for habituating trees, especially the tropical trees of Papua New Guinea. Various birds, each known as a Bird of paradise, are known for their flamboyant color and beauty, especially long, thin, streamer-like tail feathers that show off the bird’s fancy status as a flying exhibit of heavenly design and construction.

The first of today’s featured creatures, the Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana), is a tropical rainforest bird with feathery flamboyance. Indeed, extravagant feathers are commonplace for birds-of-paradise, and this variety sports scarlet red, bright green, lemon yellow, black, combined to maroonish-mauve/rusty-brown, comprising a challenge for any wildlife painter!

Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) ©WikiC

However, as beautiful as Bird-of-Paradise feathers may be, be cautious about buying their feathers from any foreign vendors, because commercial exporting transactions involving these birds are regulated according to Appendix II of a wildlife protection treaty called “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” (a/k/a the “Washington Convention”, usually abbreviated as “CITES” – opened for signature AD1973, adopted by USA in AD1975). The USA vigorously enforces CITES protections , internationally, by investigating, arresting, and prosecuting poachers who violate the endangered species provisions of the CITES treaty.

In “Flag Those Birds! (Part 1)”, we considered 4 “banner birds” – besides eagles – that appear on national flags: Belgium’s Wallonian Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus); Portugal’s Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis); Burma’s Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus); and Dominica’s Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis). In “Flag Those Birds! (Part 2)”, we reviewed 2 more “banner birds”: the British Antarctic Territory’s Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), and the Saint Helena Plover, a/k/a Saint Helena’s skinny-legged “Wirebird” (Charadrius sanctaehelenae). In “Flag That Bird! (Part 3)”, we showcased 1 more “banner bird”: Kiribati’s Great Frigatebird Emperor Penguin (Fregata minor), as well as the importance and popularity of Mother’s Day.

In this posting, we have two more “banner birds”: Papua New Guinea’s bird of paradise, featured on the flag of Papua New Guinea, and the ubiquitous dove, featured on Fiji’s flag (as well as on the royal standard of Tonga). God willing, we will subsequently review the black swan of Western Australia, the piping shrike of South Australia, the condor of Bolivia; and Uganda’s crested crane.

So for now, let us resume our series with Papua New Guinea’s Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana).

Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana, f/k/a Gerrus paradisaea).

Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) ©WikiC

Birds-of-paradise routinely eat a diet of fruits and bugs, which are plentiful in New Guinea jungles, so no one should expect birds-of-paradise to miss a meal, much less to starve in their tropical habitats! Birds-of-paradise are known to hybridise, in the wild, wreaking havoc on taxonomy charts. [See David Chandler & Dominic Couzens, 100 Birds to See Before You Die: The Ultimate Wish List for Birders Everywhere (San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2008), page 207.]

Raggiana birds-of-paradise especially appreciate tropical fruit, including nutmeg. After eating jungle fruits the birds-of-paradise serve fruit-trees by dispersing the seeds, post-digestion, with natural “fertilizer”, and thereby promote the planting of the next generation of fruit trees, which eventually germinate and fruit somewhere within the range of the tree-planting bird-of-paradise.

Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) by Dan

Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) Lowry Park Zoo by Dan

The Raggiana Bird of Paradise (a/k/a “Count Raggi’s bird-of-paradise”, being named for Marquis Francis Raggi of Genoa, Italy) is the national bird of Papua New Guinea, since AD1971, when it was included on that nation’s national flag and coat-of-arms.

Flag of Papua New Guinea ©PD

The next “banner bird” is a dove (which is really a family of similar birds), the most common species of which is the ubiquitous Rock Dove (Columbia livia), a species that includes within it a domesticated subspecies (i.e., breeder’s variety) called the homing pigeon (Columbia livia domestica – a/k/a “carrier pigeons” when they carry messages), many of which are completely white.

Of course the world is home to many other common doves and pigeons (e.g., Mourning Dove, Key West Quail-Dove, Inca Dove, White-winged Dove, various Turtle Doves, etc.), but earlier comments about doves and pigeons are now cited, rather than being repeated here, [See, for examples, Lee’s Birdwatching dove articles at Birds of the Bible – Dove and Turtle Dove, Birds of the Bible – Descending Like A Dove, and Birds of the Bible – Dove and Pigeon Distribution — as well as brief comments on the Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), while recalling a wonderful morning of bird-watching (with Chaplain Bob and Marcia Webel) in Pond-side Birdwatching In Florida III.]

Flag of Fiji ©PD

A completely white “dove of peace” appears on the flag of Fiji. But what variety of “dove” is it? (Well, it looks like it could be a white homing pigeon, but is that what the Fiji flag designers had in mind?)

Fiji is a tropical archipelago (i.e., cluster of islands) in the South Pacific Ocean. Ironically, the special habitat of the Fiji archipelago is the only “home” for 3 endemic varieties of fruit-eating doves (a/k/a “fruit doves” or “fruit pigeons”): the Orange Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus victor, a/k/a Flame Dove), Golden Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus luteovirens, a/k/a Lemon Dove or Yellow Dove), and Whistling Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus layardi, a/k/a Velvet Dove or Yellow-headed Dove), — yet none of those doves are completely white.

So the Fiji flag’s white dove, which derives from the coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of Fiji (AD1871-AD1874), does not match any particular variety of dove that is endemic to the Fiji islands.

White Dove With Olive Branch – Stained Glass ©WikiC

[ image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doves_as_symbols ]

The olive leaf branch in the white dove’s beak suggests that the dove portrayed (in the flag of Fiji) is the olive-bearing dove that Noah released, received, and released again (see Genesis 8:8-12), which Ark-borne dove many have guessed was all white (although the Bible says nothing about that dove’s color). Likewise, the royal standard of Tonga depicts a similar all-white dove, bearing a green olive leaf.

Royal Standard of Tonga

There are, of course, some doves that are completely white. As noted above, one example of a pure-white dove is the white homing pigeon. That is as good a guess as many. After all, homing pigeons are famous for returning “home”, and the olive-bearing dove returned home (to its “house-boat”) after the Flood, — so maybe Noah’s famous dove was a homing pigeon!

But we probably need to wait — until we have a chance to speak with Noah, himself, because Noah was the bird-handling one (of only 8 humans) who personally knows which variety of “dove” brought back that famous olive leaf unto him, after the year-long global Flood. (What a voyage those 8 had!) And the world’s people-groups, to this day, have multifarious records (usually literary, but not always) of remembering the unique ocean voyage that those 8 survivors took, some 4½ thousand years ago — as is briefly illustrated in “Genesis in Chinese Pictographs” (posted at www.icr.org/article/8643 ). For a thoroughly researched and documented cornucopia of ancient flood accounts, see Dr. Bill Cooper’s THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS (Creation Science Movement, 2011 — available through http://www.csm.org.uk ), 424 pages.

And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he [i.e., Noah] stayed yet other 7 days; and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him anymore. (Genesis 8:11-2)

With those short comments, as Noah did centuries ago (Genesis 8:12), we now “release” the dove into the wide wild world, where many of that tribe thrive, faithfully being fruitful, multiplying, and filling the earth (Genesis 1:22 & 9:8-12).

Another day, God willing, we shall consider the black swan of Western Australia, the piping shrike of South Australia, the condor of Bolivia, and Uganda’s crested crane. So please stay tuned!

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 2)

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 3)

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“Flag That Bird!” (Part 3)

April 23, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Flag that bird!” (Part 3)

As birds flying [‘aphôth = “winging” in air], so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He will deliver it; and passing over He will preserve it. (Isaiah 31:5)

Orni-Theology

Some birds are known for perching – we call them passerines. Some wade in shoreline tidewaters – we call them waders. Some birds don’t even fly at all – the flightless penguins only “fly” underwater! Many other birds, however, we rarely see doing anything but flying — winging in the air (to use the Biblical Hebrew’s word-picture). Today’s featured creature, the Great Frigatebird, is truly a bird of flight – it is conspicuous in the air, and its wings are both acrobatic and enormous. In “Flag those Birds! (Part 1)”, we considered 4 “banner birds” – besides globally popular eagles – that appear on national flags: Belgium’s Wallonian Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus); Portugal’s Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis); Burma’s Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus); and Dominica’s Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis). In “Flag those Birds! (Part 2)”, we considered 2 more “banner birds”: the British Antarctic Territory’s Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), and the Saint Helena Plover, a/k/a Saint Helena’s skinny-legged “Wirebird” (Charadrius sanctaehelenae). As promised, this mini-series is continuing with more “flagged birds”, this time, with the Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor), the soaring seabird officially featured on the flag of Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean nation. God willing, we will subsequently review Papua New Guinea’s bird of paradise (on the flag of Papua New Guinea), the ubiquitous dove (on Fiji’s flag, as well as on the royal standard of Tonga), the black swan of Western Australia, the white piping shrike of South Australia, the condor of Bolivia; and Uganda’s crested crane. So for now, let us consider the frigatebird, which appears on the flag of Kiribati. In case you haven’t visited Kiribati yet, the Republic of Kiribati is an archipelago — a cluster of islands — located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Specifically it is comprised of 34 islands, one of which (Banaba) is a “raised coral” island, and the rest of which are reef islands or atolls. The term “middle” (in the phrase “middle of the Pacific”) is fitting, because Kiribati straddles the equator and the International Date Line. To avoid confusion about what “day” it is, — because it would be awkward for neighboring islands to be simultaneously experiencing different “days” on the calendar (e.g., some government offices were closed, observing Sunday, while others were open for business, observing Monday!), — the International Date Line is indented, so that now the Kiribati Islands are, technically speaking, Earth’s farthest frontal time zone (called “UTC+14”, meaning “Universal Time Coordinated”, a/k/a Coordinated Universal Time, f/k/a Universal Time [UT] or Greenwich Mean Time [GMT], — so UTC+14 is 14 hours ahead of the time observed in Greenwich, London, at the Royal Observatory). Sorry for taking so much time on this digression’s details.

Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) pair ©Flickr Len Blumin

Interestingly, Kiribati’s time-of-day matches that of Hawaii – but it is deemed one “day” ahead on the calendar. (Hawaii’s time zone is very “late” in the Earth’s rotational “day”, a fact that I recall because I worked with some lawyers who took advantage of that once — when a contract option deadline appeared to be lost, because locking in a particular contract option required a signature before 5:00pm on a certain day, but no time zone was specified – the solution was to FAX the contract papers to the Hawaii office and have them signed there, before it was 5:00pm Hawaii time!). Previously Kiribati was within (and almost synonymous with) the Gilbert Islands, just west of the old “date line” – when it was a British colony. (In fact, the name “Kiribati” is how the native language says “Gilberts”.) And, if you think that is confusing, you should check out how “daylight saving time” (which may locally vary from “UTC” time, during parts of the year) is applied in the central Pacific Ocean and to some of the neighboring island nations, such as Tonga, Samoa, and Tokelau!

Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) Male ©WikiC

Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor). The Great Frigatebird is found soaring above tropical oceans all over the world. Because it is almost always seen at sea, it is not surprising that English sailors (centuries ago) called it the “man-of-war”, a term that indicated a fast-sailing oceanic warship, the same kind of ship that the French called a “frigate” (la frégate). If you ever watch a frigatebird in the air, contextualized by a background (or foreground) that provides distance indexing – as I once did (a Magnificent Frigatebird “cousin”, actually, near the shoreline of Grand Cayman, one of the Cayman Islands), – you too will be impressed with the frigatebird’s speedy flight maneuvers. In fact, its habit of stealing food (such as fish) from other seabirds is so well-known that the bird might have been better labeled the “pirate-bird”. Why? Frigatebirds often harass seagulls carrying fish, in the air, repeatedly, until the seagull drops – abandons – his or her piscatorial food-catch, in order to escape the threatening frigatebird. As the bullied victim (seagull) flees the scene of the crime, empty-beaked, the buccaneering frigatebird swoops down after the plummeting food, snatching it out of the air before it drops into the water. The physical appearance of a frigatebird is not to be easily forgotten. Frigatebirds are mostly black, with long angular wings, with a long sharply forked tail that looks pointed when “closed”. (Males are almost all black, except for the red gular pouch (described below); the females have a white “bib” covering most of the neck-to-chest area (but have no gular pouch). Frigatebirds “have long, thin, hooked bills and the males [each] possess an inflatable gular pouch which can be blown up to form a huge scarlet ball during courtship”. [Quoting Marc Dando, Michael Burchett, & Geoffrey Waller, SeaLife, a Complete Guide to the Marine Environment (Smithsonian Institute Press, 1996), page 248.] The male’s bright red “gular pouch” is a skin-covered (i.e., featherless) inflatable throat sac that connects the lower half of the bird’s beak down to and below the bird’s neck. This inflatable throat sac, quite conspicuous during breeding season, is showcased during courtship displays, swelling into a balloon-like inflation (like a bullfrog), for a timeframe that may exceed 15 minutes! The noise produced by this throat sac “sound-box” is the frigatebird’s rattling equivalent to yodeling.

Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) Male Displaying ©WikiC

The Great Frigatebird is usually seen soaring above ocean waters, or swooping through the air near island beaches, looking (“on the fly”) for a meal. In fact, frigatebirds are rarely seen on land during daylight, though they must use land for sleeping and for nesting activities, such as laying and hatching their eggs. [See www.icr.org/article/why-we-want-go-home/ — citing Tony Soper, Oceans of Birds (London: David & Charles Press, 1989), pages 82-83.] Oceanographer Tony Soper describes the winged magnificence of this oceanic flier: “Frigatebirds live up to their reputation [i.e., “frigate” = seafaring warship] with spectacular manoeuvres in aerial pursuit and piracy, stalling and turning with total control in a way which outclasses any competition. Supremely aerial seabirds, they can hang seemingly motionless in the sky for hours [gliding], waiting to pounce. The air is their daytime medium, they alight on the water only at their peril, for they have small oil glands and their plumage is not waterproof. … They are equally at a disadvantage on dry land, for their legs are short and hopelessly inadequate for walking. They must shuffle and climb to a point from which they can take off [and “land” on a rising thermal air current, as if it was an elevator]. By night they roost on a tree or bush which offers a convenient launch-pad when the sunrise brings a thermal lift. They have huge wings, up to 7ft. (2.1m) in span…. With their shapely wings they float effortlessly in dynamic soaring flight, plunging only to retrieve food items from the surface or to snatch a flying fish. Sometimes they chase other seabirds to relieve [i.e., rob] them of their catch. “ [Quoting Tony Soper, Oceans of Birds (London: David & Charles Press, 1989), pages 82-83.] Frigatebirds congregate in breeding colonies, often near colonies of other seabirds (such as cormorants, pelicans, and boobies), not infrequently mooching food collected by their avian neighbors.

The frigatebird appears to be soaring in sunrise-dominated sky above the ocean waters, in the colorful flag of Kiribati, with the three white stripes representing the three island subsets of Kiribati, the Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands, and some of the Line Islands. (The national coat-of-arms is similar.) Earlier, when Kiribati belonged to the British colony of “Gilbert and Ellice Islands”, the colonial flag included the image of a yellow frigatebird (within a coat-of-arms emblem) soaring in the sunrise above ocean waters.

Gilbert and Ellice Island, as a British colony, AD1937 ©PD

Kiribati is a nation that celebrates its past, including its providential heritage as a colony Christianized by the British. Its official public holidays not only include Easter (celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ) and related days (“Good Friday”, “Holy Saturday”, and “Easter Monday”)), as well as Christmas (celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ), but also “Gospel Day” (a moveable holiday scheduled on or near July 11^th), to celebrate the coming of the Christian faith to these Pacific islands, thanks to God sending Christian missionaries. Now that’s a day worth celebrating! (See Romans 10:20.) Other national holidays celebrate elderly men (“Unimwane Day”), elderly women (“Unaine Day”), youth (“Youth Day”), servants (“Boxing Day” – for giving boxed Christmas presents to men and women who serve), and women in general (“International Women’s Day”). So why not have a holiday to celebrate the value of men in general? Maybe the omission should be compared to the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, as they are celebrated in most churches. On Mother’s Day the typical sermon raves about how wonderful and precious mothers are (and they are applauded, given roses, etc.), — but on Father’s Day the typical sermon castigates men for being such sorry fathers, failing, failing, and failing yet again to carry their paternal responsibilities properly — why won’t they do a better job? (Yet consider this related fact about ingrates: God the Heavenly Father, Who never fails, knows the ugly ingratitude of billions of humans who fail to appreciate His wonderful, caring providences. The Lord Jesus was a “man of sorrows”, the Holy Spirit is sometimes “grieved”, and surely God the Father is often disappointed.) The next scheduled bird, on this mini-series list, is the Bird of Paradise, but that bird must wait for another day. Please stay tuned (and don’t forget Mother’s Day)!

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

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Fregatidae – Frigatebirds Family

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 2)

April 13, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Flag those birds!” (Part 2)

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi [i.e., the LORD is my banner]. (Exodus 17:15)

Orni-Theology

In “Flag that Bird! (Part 1)”, we considered 4 “banner birds” – besides globally popular eagles – that appear on national flags: Belgium’s Wallonian Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus); Portugal’s Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis); Burma’s Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus); and Dominica’s Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis).

As promised, this mini-series will continue with more “flagged birds”, namely, British Antarctic Territory (penguin); Saint Helena, British crown colony in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean (Saint Helena Plover, a/k/a “wirebird”); Kiribati (frigatebird); Papua New Guinea (bird of paradise); Fiji, as well as the royal standard of Tonga (dove); Australian state of Western Australia (black swan); Australian state of South Australia (iping shrike); Bolivia (condor); and Uganda (crested crane).

In this particular installment, 2 more (of those just listed) will be introduced.

So now, consider the penguin – avian icon of the British Antarctic Territory.

Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri). There are a variety of penguins that live in the Antarctic regions, yet it is the Emperor Penguin featured on the official coat-of-arms of the British Antarctic Territory, and that coat-of-arms is what appears on the territory’s official flag, next to the Union Jack (on a white background).

British Antarctic Territory - Union Jack with Emperor Penguin ©PD

The British explorers of the Antarctic regions include Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, who led an expedition using their research ship RRS Discovery (AD1901-AD1904), a symbol of which ship appears on the heraldic crest of that territory’s coat-of-arms.

Captain Scott’s second expedition (using the Terra Nova, AD1910-AD1913), to explore Antarctica, was disappointing for two reasons: (1) Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian exploration party had just “beat” the Brits to the South Pole, on 14 December of AD1911; and (2) Scott’s expedition party died in the wild weather of Antarctica near the end of March that year, on the Ross Ice Shelf, about 150 miles from their base camp.

Of interest to Biblical creationists, Captain Scott collected about 35 pounds of plant fossils in Antarctica, proving that Antarctica was previously forested (obviously under milder climate conditions!). Regarding the importance of forests in Antarctica, see Buddy Davis’s article “Forest in Antarctica After the Flood?”, citing National Science Foundation Press Release (8-4-2008), “Antarctic Fossils Paint a Picture of a Much Warmer Continent”.

Ironically, the Discovery and Terra Nova research ventures were both intended to support Darwin’s theory of evolution, but the evidence refused to cooperate! This surprise (to the evolutionists) is summarized by a BBC reporter, Megan Lane (in BBC News magazine, 2 November, 2011), as follows: “Of the 2,000 specimens of animals collected by Scott and his team – 400 of which were newly discovered – the jewel in the crown was a trio of Emperor penguin eggs. It was hoped [by Darwinism supporters] that these would provide long-awaited proof of Darwin’s theory of evolution. At the time, it was thought [by evolutionists that] an embryo passed through all [“phylogenetic”] stages of its species’ evolution as it developed. And as the [British evolutionists] assumed the flightless Emperor penguin to be the world’s most primitive bird, they hoped the embryos in these eggs would show the link between dinosaurs and birds. The birds had been seen before, but never with their eggs. ‘It was the greatest [sic] biological quest of its day,’ says polar historian David Wilson, whose great-uncle, Edward Wilson, was Scott’s naturalist. ‘Then they collected the eggs, and all the theories turned out to be wrong’.” [Quoting BBC’s Megan Lane.] Amazingly, the “dinosaur-morphs-into-modern-birds” fairy tale is still being fabricated today, through science fiction movies (like Jurassic Park) and via dinosaur DNA evidence spoliation. [Regarding how dinosaur DNA evidence is being censored, in academic/research circles, to avoid spoiling evolutionist mythology, see the multi-authored ICR article posted at www.icr.org/article/4947 .]

The next bird on this list is the Saint Helena Plover, locally nicknamed the “wirebird” (due to its wiry-thin legs).

St. Helena Plover (Charadrius sanctaehelenae) ©WikiC

Saint Helena Plover (Charadrius sanctaehelenae).

The Saint Helena Plover appears on the flag of Saint Helena, as well as on that small nation’s official coat-of-arms. The plover is Saint Helena’s national bird as well. Saint Helena is an island territory — in the South Atlantic Ocean (about midway between South America’s Brazil and Africa’s Angola) — administered by the United Kingdom, having been formally claimed by Great Britain when Oliver Cromwell (in AD1657) granted a charter to the East India Company, to settle the South Atlantic island. Politically speaking, Saint Helena is grouped with Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, as a British overseas territory (formerly known as “Saint Helena and Dependencies”).

Flag of Saint Helena with Saint Henea Plover ©PD

This little plover is a year-round resident, endemic to this island (although it is similar to other plovers). This endemic invertebrate-consuming landbird is a small “wader”’, i.e., a shorebird capable of wading in coastal tidewaters, yet it mostly habituates other open areas of the island, such as pasture-like grasslands. Its eggs are mostly light-brown in color, with dark-speckled mottling. Its populations are declining, according to monitoring (which includes motion-sensor ultraviolet cameras positioned near nesting grounds), apparently due to predation (by rodents or feral cats) or due to other kinds of nest disturbances (such as sheep that step on plover nests). Conservation efforts are underway, in hopes of restoring the population growth of this island’s humble symbol.

Stay tuned! God willing, the next installment in this mini-series will cover more of these “banner birds”, now that a penguin and a plover – both of which birds live only in the Southern Hemisphere, are properly “flagged” and accounted for.

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

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“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

April 8, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners; may the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. (Psalms 20:5 — numbered as 20:6 in Hebrew Bible)

Orni-Theology

“Flags” and “banners” herald symbolic messages and institutions, such as a nationality, a dynasty, a military force, or some other kind of organization. In holy Scripture, the term “flag” (in the KJV) refers to riparian or lacustrine wetland plants, which somewhat resemble banners in their physical appearance (see Job 8:11; Exodus 2:3,5; Isaiah 19:6). The term “banner” denotes the word “flag” as it is commonly used today (see Exodus 17:15; Song of Solomon 2:4 & 6:4,10; Psalms 20:5 & 60:4; Isaiah 13:2).

Whenever birds are featured on a national flag (or on its “armorial banner” version, or on a national province or department), the odds heavily favor the banner-bird being an eagle. Flags affiliated with American showcase the bald eagle; other nations usually present a golden eagle, like Mexico, or sometimes a mythical “double-headed” eagle, like Mount Athos.

Consider – for just a few representative examples – the eagles that appear on the flags – some present, some past — of these national and state/provincial flags: Albania; American Samoa; Austria (armorial flag); Brandenburg, Germany; Ecuador (armorial banner); Egypt; Geneva, Switzerland; Germany (armorial flag ); Iowa; Italian president’s flag (AD1880-AD1946); Jordan (armorial banner); Mexico; North Dakota; Oregon (front side of state flag); Pennsylvania; Poland (armorial flag); Prussia (armorial banner, AD1819-AD1850); (Moldova; Mount Athos (autonomous Greek protectorate); Russian Czar’s banner (18th century A.D.); Serbia (during AD1882-AD1918); Silesia (until absorption by Prussia in AD1742 – parts of Silesia now lay within Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic); United States Coast Guard and Marine Corps; Utah; Virgin Islands (of the USA); Zambia; etc.

So what about the other birds? Do any other birds get to show off their plumage on a national flag? Yes, but just a select few. Although this listing is likely incomplete (and it will be presented as a mini-series, God willing), herebelow are some non-eagle birds that appear on the official flags of some countries of the world.

For starters, consider the common – yet ubiquitously valuable – Chicken.

Gallic Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus).

The Gallic Chicken appears on the flag of Wallonia, Belgium.

Wallonia is a region of Belgium, where French is the language usually spoken. (In Flanders, however, Flemish is spoken; Brussels is bilingual.) The “Walloon Cock” (i.e., rooster of Wallonia) marches prominently at the center of the regional flag of Wallonia, Belgium.

Flag of Wallonia

During New testament times the country of France (and additional lands that border it) was called “Gaul”, and the symbol of Gaul was the “Gallic cock” (Gallus gallus domestic), i.e., a strutting rooster – the adult male of the domestic Chicken, deemed a subspecies of the Red Jungle-fowl (Gallus gallus). “The cock is a traditional Gallic [i.e., Gaelic/Celtic] emblem and [it] recalls Wallonia’s linguistic and cultural ties with France.” [Quoting Alfred Znamierowski, The World Encyclopedia of Flags (London: Hermes House, 2002), page 146.] Chickens are bred and eaten all over the world – they even roam the streets of Key West, Florida! Can you imagine life without chicken? – think of the almost endless variety of culinary uses of chicken meat and chicken eggs! Vive le poulet!

The next bird on this list is “bird hawk”, i.e., an accipiter hawk.

Among the birds of prey (“raptors”), there are two main categories of “hawks”: (1) eagle-or-buzzard-like “buteos” (famous for snatching rodents, lizards, fish, and snakes); (2) and smaller forest-frequenting “accipiters” (famous for snatching birds). Some would “lump” falcons with accipiters; other do not. Other groups within the greater “hawk family” include eagles, kites, harriers, vultures, and various “buzzards”.

Buteos include such birds as Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk (which also eats insects), Ferruginous Hawk, Eurasian Buzzard, Broad-winged Hawk, and Osprey.

Accipiters are the smaller category of hawk-like birds — the “true hawks” — which include the likes of Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, etc. “Accipiters are woodland, bird-catching hawks. They rely on surprise and a blurring burst of speed to overtake prey. Short, broad wings provide great acceleration, and slim bodies create little drag.” [Quoting Jack L. Griggs, All the Birds of North America (HarperCollins, 1997), page 66 .] The smaller size of accipiters is a more fitting design for darting in between and around tree branches and shrubbery. “An accipiter, like the Cooper’s hawk, can chase a songbird through a maze of trees without seeming to slow down, using its long tail as a rudder to help maneuver. If a songbird does escape the initial attack, it is likely to survive the encounter, for accipiters are sprinters … [who] seldom engage in prolonged tail chases.” [Again quoting Griggs, All the Birds of North America, page 66.]

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).

The Northern Goshawk appears on the flag of the Azores, an Atlantic Ocean-surrounded archipelago. These volcanic islands, located southwest of the European continent, arose from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, constitute an autonomous protectorate of Portugal.

Portuguese Flag (PD)

The word “Azores’ derives from açor, the Portuguese word for “goshawk” (which means “goose-hawk”). Yet it is ironic that both the name and flag of the Azores feature the Northern Goshawk (an accipiter common in continental Europe), because many historians doubt that the Northern Goshawk was a common resident of there, when the Azores were discovered by Portuguese sailors during the AD1400s. Many think that a local variety of the Eurasian Common Eurasian (Buteo buteo) was mistaken for the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) – yet nonetheless the name “Azores” (meaning “goshawks”) stuck. Accordingly, the depiction of a goshawk, matching the archipelago’s name, was superimposed onto the Azores’ territorial flag.)

The next flag-featured bird is a spectacularly colored fowl, famous for its fan-like display of extravagant covert plumage, the Peafowl. Many call this iridescence-decorated fowl the “peacock”, although it is only the male that is appropriately called “peacock”; the female is a “peahen” and the young are “peachicks”. There are three types of peafowl: (1) the Blue Peafowl (a/k/a “Indian Peafowl”) of India and Ceylon; (2) the Green Peafowl of southeastern Asia (native to Burma, Indochina, and the Indonesian island of Java); and (3) the Congo Peafowl (native to the Congo River’s drainage basin in Africa).

(Javan) Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus muticus) by Lee at Zoo Miami

Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus).

The Green Peafowl appeared, briefly (AD1939-AD1941), on the British territorial flag of “British Burma” – then a British Commonwealth colony. (Burma is now called “Myanmar”.) That colonial flag contained a Green Peafowl prominently displaying its famous covert feathers.

Flag of the Third Burmese Empire (PD)

The Green Peafowl, historically, had symbolized pre-colonial regimes of Burma.

For example, the flag of the “Third Burmese Empire” (Konbaung Dynasty, AD1752-AD1885 – a/k/a “Alompra Dynasty”, which ultimately lost the Anglo-Burmese Wars – after persecuting the Great Commission efforts of Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson, who translated the Holy Bible into Burmese), consisted of a fan-tailed Green Peafowl, superimposed on a white background.

Peafowl on Flag of the Third Burmese Empire (PD)

One more non-eagle bird, displayed on a national flag, will be included, below. (The remainder must arrive on this blogsite another day, God willing.) The next bird we will “flag” is a parrot.

Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis), a/k/a Imperial Amazon Parrot.

The Sisserou Parrot is a montane rainforest-dwelling parrot “endemic” to the Caribbean island nation of Dominica (not to be confused with another Caribbean country, Dominican Republic). The term “endemic” means limited to that one location, so the Sisserou Parrot is native only to the island nation of Dominica. And what a beautiful parrot it is! As the national bird of Dominica, it is showcased “center-stage” on Dominica’s flag.

Sisserou Parrot Insert (Amazonaon Dominic )Flag ©Flickr-

The flag’s depiction of the parrot is dominated by green and purple, with the beak and talons presented as yellow. This coloring approximates the real parrot, though the “real thing” is obviously more beautiful! The Sisserou is known to keep company with other parrots of Dominica, including the also-endemic Dominican Blue-faced Amazon Parrot (Amazona arausiaca, a/k/a “Red-necked Amazon” – no jokes about “rednecks”, please!)

There are more official birds to “flag”: British Antarctic Territory (penguin); Saint Helena, British crown colony in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean (Saint Helena Plover, a/k/a “wirebird”); Fiji (dove); Kiribati (frigatebird); Papua New Guinea (bird of paradise); Australian state of Western Australia (black swan); Australian state of South Australia (piping shrike, n/k/a white-backed Australian magpie); royal standard flag of Tonga (dove); Bolivia (condor); and Uganda (crested crane).

Till this mini-series continues, “flag those Jehovah-nissi birds!” Yet more importantly, keep in mind that the Creator of all birds, flagged or otherwise, is JEHOVAH-NISSI (“the LORD our banner”), the One to Whom we pledge our ultimate allegiance!

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi. (Exodus 17:15)

More Articles by James J. S. Johnson

Pacific Golden Plover’s Teamwork

March 14, 2015 by James J. S. Johnson

Pacific Golden Plover

James J. S. Johnson

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost [psêphizei tôn dapanên], whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish’.” (Luke 14:28-30)

Imagine how inconvenient it would be for a bird to emigrate from Alaska, to Hawaii, only to run out of fuel en route, fall out of the sky from exhaustion, only to drown in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere north of Hawaii. What a shame that would be! And yet the Golden Plover’s pre-winter migratory mission, each year, would seem doomed from the start for that very reason – yet the little sandpiper-like migrant survives the journey on less fuel than seems possible. How do they do it?

“The average weight of the golden plover before it leaves Alaska to fly to Hawaii is 200 grams. It is a small bird about the size of a pigeon. It is also a bird that does not swim! Researchers have concluded that 70 grams of its 200 grams is burnable energy. The rate at which the bird burns fuel when flying is about one gram per hour. This means right at 70 hours of flight is possible. Now we have a potentially disastrous situation. The flight to Hawaii takes 88 hours of continuous, non-stop flight! The little bird must fly for 3 days and 4 nights without food or rest or stopping at all. Impossible! How does it do this? The birds fly in a formation that breaks the wind, taking [~1/4] less energy to fly. New leaders are constantly rotating in and out. Formation flight saves energy and when the birds arrive in Hawaii, they have as much as 6 grams of fuel left over. God must have built the reserve fuel supply into the plover in case of a strong head wind along the way. Scientists are not certain how the plovers navigate from Alaska to Hawaii and back, since there is no land under their flight path. Utilization of earth’s magnetic field seems to be the best solution at this point. Some have suggested that they use the sun and stars. And how do the young birds find their way to Hawaii without an experienced adult guide, weeks after their parents have already flown back to Hawaii? A one degree mistake in navigation over the more than 4,000 kilometer flight and the birds miss Hawaii completely! But they never miss!”

[Quoting Dr. Jobe Martin, The Evolution of a Creationist, rev. ed. (Rockwall, TX: Biblical Discipleship Publishers, 2004), page 203, emphasis added.]

That’s amazing! Due to their instinctive behavior to “take turns” as “point man”, the migrating plovers use only ¾ of the food energy they would need to use if flying solo. Birds display God’s providential programming in their anatomies and physiologies! Why is that? Because God carefully planned them before He created their original ancestors on Day 5 of Creation Week (Genesis 1:21). God planned their genetics, their bio-diversity potentials and limits, their developmental biologies, and all of the bio-engineering needed to accomplish all the contingent details, — and God has been actively participating in and regulating their lives and world ever since.

As humans we often need to plan out projects before we undertake them; we need to “count the cost” before embarking on an expensive and risky undertaking. Yet God has already done this for the Pacific Golden Plover, to ensure its successful migrations twice a year. And notice how God designed teamwork to be part of His plan – and that teamwork involves bearing one another’s burdens.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

In sum, collaborating with teammates is usually a good idea, — so long as your colleagues are aimed at the same goal as you (see Amos 3:3.)

Dr. James J. S. Johnson has served as a lecturer (on ecology, geography, and history of Alaska) aboard 4 cruise ships visiting Alaska and the Inside Passage (Norwegian Wind, Norwegian Sky, Radiance of the Seas, and Rhapsody of the Seas). During those trips he tried valiantly to (and did) eat lots of finfish, such as Pacific salmon and halibut, and shellfish, such as Dungeness crabs – but no Golden Plover.

I asked Dr. Jim to post this article because of the devotional emphasis he used. We have used the Plover before, see Incredible Pacific Golden Plover, which is all about the science and creation aspect of this remarkable Plover. Just wanted to review for you an amazing bird our Creator has created for us to learn about and from.

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Birdwatching on Danish Zealand: Remembering a Sandwich Tern, at Hamlet’s Castle

Birdwatching on Danish Zealand:

Remembering a Sandwich Tern, at Hamlet’s Castle

(Photo taken from http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14567172.jpg )

(picture taken from http://blog.fuertecharter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/F295_Dibujo_01.jpg)

Photo taken from http://www.birdsoman.com/Birds/061-Gulls/SandwichTern/SandwichTern-19098.jpg

[ photo taken from https://ateambirding.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/0611-sandwich-tern-cemlyn-lagoon-anglesy-29th-june-2013-img_6143.jpg ]

[Photo taken from http://www.helcom.fi/PublishingImages/baltic-sea-trends/environment-fact-sheets/latest-fact-sheets/population-development-of-sandwich-tern/Brandseeschwalben%20J%C3%BCrgen%20Reich_1.jpg ]

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronborg#/media/File:Helsingoer_Kronborg_Castle.jpg

[ photo taken from http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/2765/tdanny_denmark_kronborg_1.jpg ]

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“Flag that bird!” (Part 3)

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“Flag those birds!” (Part 2)

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

Pacific Golden Plover’s Teamwork

Pacific Golden Plover

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Birdwatching on Danish Zealand:

Remembering a Sandwich Tern, at Hamlet’s Castle

(Photo taken from http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/14567172.jpg )

(picture taken from http://blog.fuertecharter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/F295_Dibujo_01.jpg)

Photo taken from http://www.birdsoman.com/Birds/061-Gulls/SandwichTern/SandwichTern-19098.jpg

[ photo taken from https://ateambirding.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/0611-sandwich-tern-cemlyn-lagoon-anglesy-29th-june-2013-img_6143.jpg ]

[Photo taken from http://www.helcom.fi/PublishingImages/baltic-sea-trends/environment-fact-sheets/latest-fact-sheets/population-development-of-sandwich-tern/Brandseeschwalben%20J%C3%BCrgen%20Reich_1.jpg ]

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronborg#/media/File:Helsingoer_Kronborg_Castle.jpg

[ photo taken from http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/2765/tdanny_denmark_kronborg_1.jpg ]

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Here’s Seed for Thought

BACKYARD BIRDS AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS

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“Flag that bird!” (Part 3)

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“Flag those birds!” (Part 2)

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“Flag That Bird!” (Part 1)

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Pacific Golden Plover

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