Category Archives: Birds of the Bible

Black Vultures Up Close at Gatorland

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Black Vulture in tree watching Stork arrival

On our last visit to Gatorland, see articles below, there wasn’t an abundance of avian wonders as on previous visits. Yet, there is always something to discover. The alligators, Flamingos, and a few Parrots are permanent residents, but the birds are free to come and go. The different families of birds build their nest during various times of the year, and late December seems to be void of nest.

Yet, not to be discouraged, the Black Vultures were staking out the trees. Soon they would create their nest, and raise their young. In late January, February, and March, the Herons and Egret will start their families.

Since there were so many of the Black Vultures around, and so close, I took some interesting photos, at least to me, of these sort of ugly, but amazing flying “landscape improvers.” :) They gather beside highways to feed on road-killed animals and other dead animals in fields, or wherever they find them.

“‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,” (Leviticus 11:13 NKJV)

Yep, I wouldn’t want to to eat one of these birds, but yet, they are beautiful in their on right. Their feathers are still very interesting, and definitely help them soar.

Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) are members of the Cathartidae Family.

Black Vultures in tree

“The communal roost is an important focus of the social life of Black Vultures. It serves as a meeting place for adults and their young and as an assembly point for foraging groups. The communal roost also appears to function as an information center, a site where unsuccessful foragers can locate food by following roost mates to carcasses.” (©Birds of the World)

They were okay until a Wood Stork landed

Wood Stork arriving in the Vulture’s Tree

on “their” tree:

Black Vultures in tree watching Stork arrival

One of the Vultures tried to “stare” the Stork down.

Black Vultures in tree watching Stork arrival

Black Vulture in tree watching Stork arrival

Further along the path, there was a another tree of vultures that caught my attention. It was right along the boardwalk and I was able to observe them from a closer range. Here is a slideshow of these. I was amazed watching this Black Vulture preening up-close.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What an amazing Creator who provides for each of His Avian Wonders.

Birds of the Bible – Vulture

Cathartidae – New World Vultures

Other Gatorland Post from the December 30th visit:

  1. Flamingo Filtering at Gatorland – 12/30/20
  2. Gator Tail Anyone?
  3. Our Gatorland Welcome 12-30-20
  4. Put Your Best Foot Forward

Sharing The Gospel

Gator Tail Anyone?

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Here in Florida, there are some restaurants that serve Gator Tail. Usually, it is served as an appetizer.

Gator Tail Appetizer ©Skipper Fish Camp

While we were walking around Gatorland on our last trip, I noticed some Black Vultures very near the end of an alligator. They were across the pond, so I zoomed in to see what they were doing.

I’m thinking to myself:

#1 – These birds are crazy being that close to the gator.

#2 Maybe they are picking bugs or weeds off of its tail.

Cropped after I got home.

Before I tell more, let me continue on with the rest of the visit. When we got to my favorite part where the birds ride on the alligators (See Gatorland’s Taxi Service), I was again videoing the activities. I noticed on the little island that some more Black Vultures were again at the tail of another large alligator.

Egret on Gator Taxi and Vultures at Gator’s Tail by Lee

Vulture at Gator’s Tail – Zoomed by Lee

Vulture at Gator’s Tail – Zoomed by Lee

Here is a crop of the crop. You can see him actually eating the meat right out of a living alligator. He couldn’t even wait for them to batter and fry up a piece for him.

Zoom of a zoom

I also took a video of some of this:

https://youtu.be/nZnCTxkM4C0&rel=0

Now I see why Vultures are on the “Do Not Eat” list! They are a Bird of the Bible after all.

“‘These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, and the kite and the falcon in its kind, every raven in its kind,” (Leviticus 11:13-15 NASB)

Birds of the Bible – Vulture

Birds of the Bible

Good News Tracts – Various Topics

 

Update and Release of Rockefeller

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In Rockefeller the Saw-Whet Owl in Christmas Tree, you were introduced to Rockefeller, the little Saw-Whet Owl that was found in the Christmas Tree.

They promised they would release him last week-end, but released the owl last Tuesday, November the 24th. Here is a video of that release.

As this little owl was given compassion, and they helped him renew his strength, so we need “renewal” from time to time.

“Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old,” (Lamentations 5:21 NASB)

“and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24 NKJV)

The Wise Owl

Just Some Reviews of Several Previous Posts

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Two Deer At Shi Shi Beach ©WikiC

While I am continuing to move articles from Birds of the Bible for Kids site to this one, I come across previous post, that were just delightful. Many of you enjoyed them as well. Just thought you might like a look back at a few of them:

A Curious, Leeping or Panting Deer?

This has two videos of deer running and bounding in water. Take a look!

Black-Crowned Night Heron at S Lk Howard

Black-Crowned Night Heron at S Lk Howard

Also, here are a couple of videos of resourceful Heron at work:

Black-Crowned Heron Fishing With Patience and Bread

and a

Green Heron Fishing With Bread

*

Wordless Birds

From Decorah Eagles – Most Adorable Eaglet

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“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalms 103:5 KJV)

“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19 NKJV)

What an interesting video! Enjoy!

Bible Birds – Eagle

Birds of the Bible – Eagle

Wordless Birds

The Wise Owl

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Northern Barred Owl (Strix varia) Reinier Munguia

Northern Barred Owl (Strix varia) Reinier Munguia

The Wise Owl

Have you ever heard of someone described as being “wise as an owl”? I suppose, more than anything else, that the owl’s large head and wide-open eyes mark him out as a symbol of wisdom. In any case, he is a remarkable bird, wonderfully designed and fitted by the wisdom and power of the Creator for his peculiar life. At night he is able to see far better than in the day; and in the day he is able to safely hide himself from his enemies.

Can you see in the dark?

Are you wise like the owl? Are you able to see in the night? Do you wonder what I mean? Let me try to tell you…

You see, sin has produced spiritual darkness in this world—a darkness so great that when Jesus was here as the Light of the world, “men loved darkness rather than Light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). And what did they do? They crucified Him because they did not want Him; they did not love Him. They did not see Him to be the Son of God who came to shed His blood and to die so that sinners like you and me might be saved.

Let me ask you: Do you know Him as the Son of God who died for you? Do you love Him? If so, then you, like the owl, have wide-open eyes in this time of night caused by the Lord Jesus Christ’s absence from this world. If you do not, then BE WISE and trust Him as your Saviour. Then you will be able to say with the blind man who Jesus healed, “One thing I KNOW, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

White-fronted Scops Owl (Otus sagittatus) by MAMuin

White-fronted Scops Owl (Otus sagittatus) by MAMuin

Are you safe from the enemy?

Are you wise like the owl? Are you able to safely hide yourself in the day? Again, do you wonder what I mean? Let me tell you…

This is the daytime of God’s salvation and grace, but do you know that the enemy of your soul stalks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour? Who is that, do you ask? It is none other than Satan, the Devil, who has many deceitful tricks to make you fall into his hands. You are no match for his power nor his cunning, so you need a refuge from him—a hiding place for your soul. Is there such a hiding place? Yes! The Hiding Place is the same One who gives light so the wise may see. It is the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 32:7). He is referred to as the ROCK of our Salvation (Psalm 95:1)—the place of strength, safety and security. He defeated the Devil at the Cross where He was smitten for our sins, and became the “Rock of Ages” cleft for sinners. Your safety depends solely upon hiding in Him. There is no other salvation for you than in the Lord Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

How to be wise

BE WISE! Come to the Lord Jesus Christ NOW! How do you come? Come just as you are, confessing to Him that you are a sinner, and tell Him you believe He died for your sins on Calvary. He will then become your Saviour.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

You will then have in Jesus Christ a Light in the darkness, and a Hiding Place from danger and judgment for time and eternity. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

—D.T.J.

Are Ostriches Stupid ? – Creation Moments

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ARE OSTRICHES STUPID?

Job 39:13-15

“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.”

Ostriches are certainly comical looking birds. Whenever I see a picture of one, it certainly makes me smile.  Mind you, if you meet one up close, you might not laugh so much because they can cause a lot of damage with their legs, and particularly with their feet. But where ostriches come to our notice, as biblical Christians, is that many people think that the Bible is completely mistaken about ostriches, and, therefore, these supposed errors invalidate Scripture.

The main contentious verse is in Job 39. In this chapter, God is telling Job about the various things that He has created to silence Job and show him that his complaints are irrelevant. In verses 14 and 15, the accusation is that the ostrich is pictured as stupid for leaving its eggs in the sand and accidentally crushing them. Then, we are told, the Bible tells us that the mother ostrich forgets, or even neglects, her young.

Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) at Riverbanks Zoo SC by Lee

Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) at Riverbanks Zoo SC by Lee

Actually, much of this is based on a false anthropomorphism. We should not expect that an animal is going to show human characteristics. In any case, the mother ostrich does tend to leave her young because the care of newly hatched chicks seems to be the job of the father ostrich, so there is no error in what the Bible is claiming.

So when were ostriches created? They are clearly birds, but they appear designed to live on land. We must assume, therefore, that God made them on Day Six.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your wisdom in creation, and, like Job, we must stand with our mouths stopped, in awe at Your greatness. Amen.

Author:  Paul F. Taylor

Ref:  Ostrich in the Bible, accessed 1/30/2019. Image: CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

See

Are Ostriches Stupid? Creation Moments

Bible Birds – Ostrich

Birds of the Bible – Ostrich.

Isaiah’s Eagle – A Promise For Us

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Great Blue Heron; Walton County, Georgia birding photogaphy blog by williamwisephoto.com

Last week, William Wise posted his great photo and post, Almighty Is His Name. And all week, I desired to post the scripture verses in Isaiah 40, that we read the next day. Somehow lately, time seems to get away from me. Not going birding, or having but few birds visiting the back yard, . . . . . .

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Resting ©Flickr Andy Morffew

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?”

Bald Eagle Lowry Park Zoo 12-31-15 by Lee

“The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.“

Eye Surgery on an Eagle ©phillipdthomas

“He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.“

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chicks ©USFWS

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,”

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Ray

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Ray

“But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31 NKJV)

Mute Swans – From AviBirds

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Mark, from AviBirds, has given us the privledge of viewing the various videos that they produce. Here is the one about the Mute Swan (Cygnus Olor).

We are fortunate to see the Mute on several of the Lakes over in Lakeland, Florida. Plus, other places around here, but we have birded Lake Morton and Lake Hollingsworth many times over the years. Here are a few of those sightings:

Why you looking at my foot – Mute Swan at Lake Morton

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (close up) at Lake Morton, Lakeland, FL By Dan’sPix

Mute Swan on Nest at Lake Morton

Mute Swan on Nest at Lake Morton by Dan

“And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,” (Leviticus 11:18 KJV) From the “Do Not Eat List”

Stop by AviBirds for all of their videos, or stay tuned for more postings here.

Birds of the Bible – Swans

Good News

Jesus And Birds – Birds Not Sowing

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Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) with Hoard or Grainary WikiC

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) with Hoard or Grainary WikiC

Wow! Where does time go? With all this craziness over the Coronavirus and the uneasiness of our country, time gets away from me. Maybe I need to listen to what Jesus was saying about not being anxious. This is the 4th mention of birds by the Lord while here on earth. 1st Cleansing Of Temple was the last in this series. That was back in May.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26 NASB) [emphasis mine]

Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) ©WikiC Feeding

Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephala) ©WikiC Feeding

This time we have the much quoted, and taught, lesson about the feeding of birds of the air. Mathew 6:25-34 is a favorite passage of mine. The Lord encourages us to relax and put our trust in Him. LOOK!!! at the birds, I take great care of them. I WILL ALSO take great care of you!!

Clothes? Look how HE feeds and dresses the birds! Even the plants, are so beautiful.

“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” (Matthew 6:27-29 NASB)

QUIT WORRYING!

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?‘ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:30-32 NASB)

So, how do we quit worring, Look to Jesus and His Kingdom. First by accepting Him as our Savior, and then learning to trust fully in His care and provisions. No, the food won’t fall out of heaven, but the Lord will provide us the means of providing what we can. Then we need to depend on Him to provide whatelse we need. (Not always what we want)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34 NASB)

Gospel Message

 

Creation Moments – How Many Feathers?

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Tongtianlong Cropped ©WikiC

“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25

 Today, we often see pictures of dinosaurs covered in feathers, which used to be represented with bare scales. Why has this change occurred? There is a preconceived notion, held by many evolutionists, that birds evolved from therapod dinosaurs, such as tyrannosaurus and the smaller raptor dinosaurs.

One such dinosaur reported in the media just a few years ago was Tongtianlong limosus. Apparently, its name means “muddy dragon on the road to heaven”. This sheep-sized dinosaur was discovered in China, and the fossil had an arched neck and raised head, as if it was trying to get free of something. Artists’ impressions of the creature show it covered with feathers, and reporters and researchers alike assume that this is correct. One scientific commentator said, “Modern birds came from dinosaurs … and it’s dinosaurs like Tongtianlong that give us a glimpse of what the ancestors of modern birds would have looked like. Fossils like these capture evolution in action.” Yet, this is simply not the case and appears to be an example of circular reasoning. The fossil shows no sign of feathers – not even the so-called dubious proto-feathers associated with other finds. It is simply the type of dinosaur that has caused it to be so classified by evolutionists, exercising more artistic license than is appropriate for serious scientific work.

In the Bible we read that God made birds on day five, and He made land animals on day six, so birds could not have evolved from dinosaurs.

Prayer: Lord God, You made everything right, in the way that You designed it, according to Your glory. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Robinson, P. (2016), Sorry, how many feathers did you find?, < https://creation.com/sorry-how-many-feathers-did-you-find >, accessed 5/1/2019. Image: CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Used With Permission: © 2020 Creation Moments, Inc.

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” Adolf Hitler

“If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” [Jesus’ Words] (John 3:12 NASB)

If people do not believe the things that the Lord said about His Creation, and continue to make up false theories, how will they ever believe the truth of Christ’s offer of salvation?

Will they prepare for heaven? God’s Word is true, yet many refuse to believe it. They would rather lie, than accept the truth. So sad. Maybe a good title for this article should have been,

“How Many Lies!”

Creation Moments – How Many Feathers?

Creation Moments

More Creation Moment articles here

What will you do with Jesus?

Backyard Birding – Maybe Part III

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Gator and Sandhill Cranes 05-20-20 by Lee

Gator and Sandhill Cranes 05-20-20 by Lee

“Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.” (Proverbs 4:26 NKJV)

In Backyard Birding – Maybe Part I and Part II, I referred to our gator that hangs out at the edge of our backyard. Here is the video I promised.

The two Sandhills had been on our back lanai and we had shooed them off. They went down to the water at the end of our yard and started teasing the gator. They jumped up a few times and just looked at him. Then they flew across to the other bank, and that is where I captured this on video.

https://youtu.be/fx-Y_XiFc0M&rel=0

[I thought I knew how to kill parts of the sound, but it killed it all. So I left the sound on. We were eating our breakfast when all of this was occurring. I was sitting in my chair filming this.]

From the following articles, it is obvious that Sandhill Cranes are quite common here in central Florida. They are fun to watch, except when the peck on the back sliding door.

Sandhill Cranes ousidet window Coventry by Lee

Sandhill Cranes ousidet window Coventry by Lee

“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:7 KJV)

“Sandhill Cranes mate for life, choosing their partners based on dancing displays. Displaying birds stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air.” [All About Birds – Sand Hill Cranes]

More about Cranes: