Category Archives: Birds

Eye of the Beholder – Anhinga

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Anhinga Outstretched by Dan

Anhinga Just out of the Water by Dan

The Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) is a interesting bird to watch here in Florida. They are very easy to spot with their outstretched wings. It is harder to spot them when they are in the water and swimming with only their heads stuck out. This is where the nickname, “Snake Bird,” comes from. We were watching them the other day when we visited Lake Hollingsworth and it reminded me of some verses.

1. The Anhinga must be tired after all that diving and is quite water-logged (heavy-laden) and needs to rest while its wings dry out. The Anhinga does not have an oil gland like most birds and must dry its feathers before it can get airborne again. The Lord designed it this way so that it can dive deep to catch fish, which is about 99% of its prey. If the feathers are oily, the bird has a tendancy to pop back up to the surface.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” (Matthew 11:28-29 NASB)

Anhinga Dryed at Lake Hollingsworth

Anhinga Dryed at Lake Hollingsworth

For us, we can come to the Lord when things are “getting us down” and He will give us rest. When we pray and ask the Lord to help us and we leave the burden with Him, our souls are refreshed and we feel rested.

2. When the Anhinga first comes out of the water, they look all black and you do not see the white in its feathers. As the feathers dry, the color lightens up, and eventually the white shows up.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 KJV)
The Wordless Book song that Child Evangelism uses:

My heart was black with sin,
Until the Savior came in.
His Precious Blood I know,
Will wash me whiter than snow.
And in God’s Word I’m told
I’ll walk the streets of gold.
I’ll read my Bible and pray,
And Grow in Him every day!

Other Eye of the Beholder blogs

Birdwatching at Lake Hollingsworth 05-28-09

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Immature Limpkin

Immature Limpkin

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17 NASB)

Well, today we finally got to go birdwatching for the first time in almost two months. With me being sick for almost a month and having rain for the last two weeks, we made a short visit today to Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland. I am definitely not complaining about the rain. We have been in drought conditions here in central Florida. We have had 9 1/2 inches in our yard in the last two weeks. Our grass is finally green. The rain has refilled the lakes around here also. The picture I use at the top of the blog was taken at South Lake Howard Nature Park. Until the rains began, that stream was about 2 feet wide. It now looks like the picture again. Praise the Lord for the rain.

Here is a list of the birds we spotted today. On the drive to the lake we saw Ospreys, Cattle Egrets, 4 Wood Storks, a duck (mallard I think) with at least 10 babies in tow, a Great Egret, 10 Rock Pigeons and some Starlings.

Baby Geese by Dan

Baby Geese by Dan

At the lake, I had to feed the local beggars, which I enjoy doing. And then I checked out the local birds which included – White Ibises, Osprey, Wood Ducks, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Anhingas, 5 Limpkins, Boat-tailed Grackles, Geese and their babies, Mallards and their babies, Common Moorhens and their babies, Fish Crow, Muscovys, Purple Gallinule and a Pied-billed Grebe. As we knew, all our winter visiting birds have all gone back north to raise their young and enjoy their summer. Lord willing, I’ll be awaiting them in the fall.

This video is of an Anhinga and then I zoomed in on the Limpkin. Just testing out the video part of my camera.

 

Birds of the Bible – For His Pleasure

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Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

The Lord has created some fantastically beautiful birds amongst His Creation. This blog is just to show you some of those birds. As you watch the photos, realize that they are under a curse, (“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:22) and yet they are so neat. What must the first birds have been like when they were created? The Lord must have the neatest Paint Brush!

These photos were chosen to show colors and markings. In another blog, I’ll feature another of God’s Creative Handiwork.

All of these photos are copyrighted © by the photographers and used with their permission. Please honor their copyrights. Visit their galleries (see sidebar Photography).

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Birds in Hymns – He Abides

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And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; (John 14:16)

Words: Her­bert Buff­um (1879-1939), written 1922
Music: Doc M. Shanks

I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the hand of God in all my life I see.
And the reason of my bliss,
Yes, the secret all is this:
That the Comforter abides with me.

Long-billed Corella by Birdway (Australia)

Long-billed Corella by Birdway (Australia)

Refrain

He abides, He abides.
Hallelujah, He abides with me!
I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the Comforter abides with me.

Once my heart was full of sin,
Once I had no peace within,
Till I heard how Jesus died upon the tree.
Then I fell down at His feet,
And there came a peace so sweet.
Now the Comforter abides with me.

Refrain

He is with me everywhere,
And He knows my ev’ry care;
I’m as happy as a bird and just as free.
For the Spirit has control;
Jesus satisfies my soul,
Since the Comforter abides with me.

Australian Hobby by Ian Montgomery

Australian Hobby by Ian Montgomery

Refrain

There’s no thirsting for the things
Of the world—they’ve taken wings.
Long ago I gave them up, and instantly
All my night was turned to day,
All my burdens rolled away.
Now the Comforter abides with me.

Refrain

He Abides – CyberHymnal

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

See ~ Wordless Birds

More ~ Birds in Hymns

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Fotobirder by Steve Slayton

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White-tailed Kite by SSlayton

White-tailed Kite by SSlayton

While looking for some more photos for the Birds of the Bible pages I am updating, I again came to “Fotobirder” at Smugbug by Steve Slayton. Steve is the brother-in-law of a very good friend of mine in South Carolina. He has been busy adding lots of new photos. Steve is one of the photographers who has given his permission to use his photos. Thanks, Steve. [update: His site is now removed.]

Steve is a Christian and loves to put a Scripture verse with most of his photos. He gives credit to the Creator for what He has created.

Anna's Hummingbird - The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. PSALM 24 verse 1

Anna’s Hummingbird – The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. PSALM 24 verse 1

Cedar Waxwing Eating by Steve Slayton

Cedar Waxwing Eating by Steve Slayton

Here are a few of his photos:

Timmy and the Stork

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Wood Stork by Lee

Wood Stork by Lee

I couldn’t resist this, because the Stork is one of our Birds of the Bible. And, besides that, this is funny.  This was printed in our local “Orange Peel Gazette” which comes out at least once a month and has jokes in it.

Timmy and the Stork

A man took his little boy to the zoo for the very first time. Each time they would see a new animal the little boy would ask, “What’s that?”  And each time the father would explain.  When they came to a pen with a very large bird inside the father said, “And that, Jimmy is a Stork.” The boy stood there for a few moments and the began to wave and say, “Hi! I’m Timmy!”  After several times of repeating this he finally turned to his father and exclaimed, “Guess I’m all grown up, Dad, he doesn’t recognize me.”

Timmy's delivery

Timmy’s delivery

 

 

 

 

 

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For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26 KJV)

 

Latest “Missing Link” in Human Evolution

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And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 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. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:24-27)

Creation Moments Responds to the Latest “Missing Link” in Human Evolution

"Ida" the "Missing Link"

"Ida" the "Missing Link"

Thought you might enjoy reading the lastest newsletter from Creation Moments about “Ida”, the new “missing link.” I had seen this on TV just recently and figured someone would question it.

“It is now May and Creation Moments has been wondering when – during this Darwin’s bicentenary year – some startling new fossil discovery would be announced confirming Darwin’s Theory. Well, the announcement is a bit late – Darwin’s  birthday was February 12.  And, to put it mildly, the discovery is not at all spectacular.

It’s a skeleton of a lemur monkey a mere 21 inches long, but half of that is the tail. It is claimed to be 47 million years old, and it was found in two parts by an amateur fossil hunter in Germany in 1983…..”

To read the rest of the article from Creation Moments Click Here

Birds of the Bible – Osprey III

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But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, (Deuteronomy 14:12 KJV)
“But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, (Deuteronomy 14:12 NASB)

Osprey Family by Phillip Simmons

Osprey Family by Phillip Simmons

I decided to revisit the Osprey because they have been actively nesting in the area the last few months and also have some new photos to share. The photo to the right is neat in that both are working to feed the little ones. They usually mate for life. Normally the male does the fishing while the female guards the nest. The Ospreys were greatly endangered with DDT, but they are making a great recovery. For the first “Birds of the Bible – Osprey,” CLICK HERE

While preparing (with e-Sword) the above verse, I again reminded that not all the translations use “osprey or ospray”. Some use “vulture” (ESV, NASB, NKJV & others) and Darby uses “sea-eagle.” This was investigated in “Birds of the Bible – Osprey II.”

The research that is being done with the DNA of birds is changing the classification of several birds. The Osprey is being affected by these changes also. They were with the New World Vultures and now that is being rethought.

There are four subspecies of Osprey (Pandionidae):

Eastern Osprey Stamp-Australia

Eastern Osprey Stamp-Australia

Australia and New Guinea have an Pandion cristatus – Eastern Osprey  (non-migratory) They even have stamps with their photos. The smallest subspecies.

North America – halietus carolinensis (migratory)

Eurasia – P.h. haliaetus

P.h. ridgwayi in the Caribbean; “Caribbean subspecies Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi. Known for their very pale head and breast plumage.”

“Poole (1994) points to an interesting fact: despite its long history, Osprey has not evolved into different species.” I can believe that.

The typical lifespan is 20-25 years.

See the Osprey Page for more links, plus photos and videos. Osprey Photos

Osprey Ridgwayi from Rutland Ospreys
Osprey Ridgwayi from Rutland Ospreys

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Eastern Osprey by Birdway

Eastern Osprey by Birdway

New Photographer Added

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Great Egret by Quy Tran

Great Egret by Quy Tran

We have a new photographer who has given permission to use some of his photos. Quy Tran is an amazing photographer. He has quite an eye for capturing his subjects. Quy is fantastic in his compositions. Check out his Gallery at Quy Tran Galleries. Not only does he have wildlife photos, but his closeups are amazing.

Roseate Spoonbill by Quy Tran

Roseate Spoonbill by Quy Tran

Thank you Quy for your permission to use some of your photos. All his photos are Copyright © Quy Tran and are being use with his permission.

Bambi by Quy

Bambi by QuyButterfly by QuyButterfly by Quy

Butterfly by Quy

Butterfly by Quy

Birds in Hymns – Jesus, Holy, Undefiled

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For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)

Words: Em­i­ly M. Shap­cole, Hymns for In­fant Child­ren (Mas­ters: 1852).

Music: Ferr­i­er, John B. Dykes, 1862

Jesus, Holy, Undefiled


Jesus, holy, undefiled,
Listen to a little child;
Thou hast sent the glorious light,
Chasing far the silent night.

House Sparrow by Raymond Barlow

House Sparrow by Raymond Barlow

Thou hast sent the sun to shine,
O’er this glorious world of Thine;
Warmth to give and pleasant glow,
On each tender flow’r below.

Now the little birds arise,
Chirping gaily in the skies;
Thee their tiny voices praise,
In the early songs they raise.

Thou, by Whom the birds are fed,
Give to me my daily bread;
And Thy holy Spirit give,
Without Whom I cannot live.

Also released As Birds Their Infant Brood Protect by William Cowper, today.

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

See ~ Wordless Birds

More ~ Birds in Hymns

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Home again, Home again!

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Painted BuntingPraise the the Lord, I am home again after a 5 day stay in the hospital. Thank all of you who have been praying for me while I have been fighting this infection. I have a viral respiratory infection (severe bronchitis) and it has to run it’s course. Could be several more months, so they tell me. With all their agressive treatments, I am much improved, but not well yet. At least they helped keep it from turning into pneumonia.

So, it’s back to try to do the “construction” I started some time back.

Thanks again for all your prayers. They were felt and appreciated.

Lee