Swans Return, in November, for Chesapeake Bay Over-wintering
Dr. James J. S. Johnson
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven . . . . He hath made every thing beautiful in his time; also He has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 3:11)
TUNDRA SWANS as “Winter Marylanders” (Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program photo credit)
Seasons come and seasons go, demonstrating the faithfulness of God’s post-Flood promise to Noah and Noah’s Ark passengers:
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)
Only a half-year ago the May migrants were blanketing shorelands of the Delmarva [Delaware-Maryland-Virginia] Peninsula, and other parts of the the Chesapeake Bay’s watershed shorelands, here and there:
In May we were tramping the saltmarshes and beaches of the lower Delmarva Peninsula with biologists from the Nature Conservancy, collecting vital data on a variety of shorebirds, from willets to whimbrels, plovers to dunlins, red knots to ruddy turnstones. Some, like the curved-beaked whimbrels, may be airborne without stopping for up to five days, arriving at the lush marshes and mudflats of our region famished from their winter haunts in South America. For several weeks they will refuel here, nonstop, chowing down on fiddler crabs. Then, one spring evening, something in them stirs, and they are aloft by the thousands, not to alight before reaching breeding grounds that stretch from Hudson Bay to far northwest Canada’s Mackenzie River Delta. [Quoting Tom Horton, CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, 34(5):30 (July -August 2024).]
But now, in November, the phenological reverse occurs — because, during May (and earlier), migrant birds fly northward, to seek out their summer breeding grounds; whereas, during November (and earlier), migrant birds are flying southbound, leaving their breeding grounds behind, as they emigrate by air to their over-wintering grounds.
Come this autumn we’ll be on Deer Creek on the Susquehanna River . . . [including] days in the wet and snow over the winter, filming tundra swans, one of the largest long-distance migrators of the bird world. They [i.e., tundra swans] spend a good portion of their lives on the wing, moving from breeding grounds across Alaska’s North Slope and the Yukon each fall into the Chesapeake and North Carolina — a 9,000-mile round trip. . . . . In November, not long after the last monarch [butterfly, emigrating southward to Mexico] has passed through, and as the silver eels [migrating snake-shaped ray-finned fish] stream from the Chesapeake’s mouth toward Sargasso depths, there will come the lovely, wild hallooing of “swanfall” — the descent of the tundra swans from on high to grace our winter. [Quoting Tom Horton, CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, 34(5):30 (July -August 2024).]
TUNDRA SWAN (Wikipedia / Maga-chan photo credit)
Tundra swans — they are huge [some would say “yooge”] geese-like birds.
So, what kinds of waterfowl are phenologically (and providentially) programmed, by the Lord Jesus Christ, to winter in ice-free estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay?
“Duck, duck, goose!”—and swans (such as Tundra Swans), just to name the most obvious. For example, Tundra Swans—being “yooge” birds—are easy to observe, especially if they are afloat in waters of an estuarial (or lacustrine) habitat that you may be visiting.
TUNDRA SWANS in North Carolina (USF&WS photo / public domain)
Swans are the largest waterfowl, and the tundra swans travel the farthest, more than 4,000 miles in some cases. They winter primarily on the Delmarva [Delaware-Maryland-Virginia] Peninsula and the estuarine edges of North Carolina. These large white birds are easily recognized by their black bills and straight or nearly straight necks. Tundra swans often form flocks on shallow ponds. [Quoting Kathy Reshetiloff, “Chesapeake’s Abundance Lures Wintering Waterfowl”, CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, 33(9):40 (December 2023), posted at http://www.bayjournal.com/columns/bay_naturalist/chesapeake-s-abundance-lures-wintering-waterfowl/article_4463317a-887f-11ee-a208-8768dc34c5a7.html .]
Wow! — what a wonder these wintering waterfowl are!
Or, more appropriately said, Hallelujah! — what a treasure of phenological providence these wonderful waterbirds are, showing God’s handiwork and caring kindness for His own creatures. May God bless them all, as they faithfully do their respective parts to “be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” (Genesis 8:17).
Consider the ravens [κορακας], for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? (Luke 12:24)
AMERICAN CROW (Wikipedia photo credit)
Ever seen a crow [Corvus brachyrhynchos] on a road, struggling to consume roadkill? Yesterday I approached a crow in the road, as I was commuting—the crow was struggling to pull edible portions of meat from roadkill—it looked like a squirrel.
Like the Holy Land’s ravens [Corvus corax] who are mentioned by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (in Luke 12:24), crows are famously opportunistic eaters – and their potential food sources include the cadavers of dead rodents, such as squirrels who (sadly) become roadkill in tree-populated suburban streets.
AMERICAN CROW (J. J. Audubon painting / public domain)
The crow that I saw, yesterday morning, was struggling so, to get some edible parts of the roadkill, that he (or she) did not see my car approaching—which could result in the roadkill-eating crow himself (or herself) soon becoming another example of roadkill!
So, of course, I tooted my car’s horn, with the jolting noise scaring the crow – so the crow quickly (and safely) flew away, thus escaping a roadkill fate. After my car passed through that part of the boulevard, happily, the hungry (and still living) crow returned to its roadkill meal.
Sometimes a little “beep, beep” is all that is needed to “save the day” (for a crow)!
Yea, the stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their return; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7)
The Bible mentions migratory birds – for examples, storks, turtledoves, cranes, and swallows are mentioned as faithfully migratory birds in Jeremiah 8:7. (See JJSJ’s “A Lesson from the Stork”, at http://www.icr.org/article/lesson-from-stork .)
CANADA GOOSE in flight (Wikipedia photo credit)
Avian migrations are truly a wonderful recurrence in God’s phenological providences.
With that in mind, I observed a flock of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) in my neighborhood, not far from my mailbox—they were grazing among the grasses by my rain-runoff drainage ditch.
CANADA GEESE IN GRASS (HumaneActionPittsburgh.org photo credit)
But not long afterwards they were off again, in the air, southbound, toward wherever they go for winter. Today’s limerick follows.
CHIMNEY SWIFT near Cleveland, Ohio, by Lake Erie (Adam Jackson / Wikipedia photo credit)
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. (Psalm 100:1)
SWIFT is a fitting name for the swallow-like birds that swiftly dart, here-and-there, zigzagging and zipping and catching flying fast-food on the wing. Also, they are known for nesting inside traditional chimneys.
CHIMNEY SWIFT nesting (Wikipedia photo)
One of the well-known varieties of swifts are the Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica), whose breeding ranges fill America’s eastern half plus some of the central prairie states. Swifts resemble swallows so closely, in morphology and in behavior, that swifts were originally categorized as swallows, e.g., by Carl Linnaeus, and later by ornithologists Mark Catesby and John James Audubon.
AMERICAN SWIFT by John James Audubon
Alonso Abugattas, on behalf of the CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, has recently reported on the Eastern seaboard’s Chimney Swifts, noting that these insectivorous birds are, as their name suggests, swift:
The twittering, darting flight of the chimney swift is a common sight in the skies of cities and towns in the Chesapeake Bay region during the warmer months. These birds are often best identified by their peculiar silhouettes even when they are high up in the air — looking like a “cigar with wings,” to borrow the description given to them by famed birding writer Roger Tory Peterson.
Male and female chimney swifts are identical in coloration, though the males may be slightly larger. These 5.5-inch birds are dark brownish gray with pale throats, short necks and round heads. Their tails are short, usually tucked to a point when in flight but sometimes spread out and square-ended. Their curved, scimitar-like wings extend far from the cigar-shaped body, giving them a wingspan more than twice their head-to-tail length. Surprisingly, swifts are not closely related to swallows, appearances notwithstanding.
Chimney swifts are true to their name, being very fast in the air, and their flight is fairly distinctive with rapid wing beats followed by a short glide. They are built to be aerial acrobats, rarely touching down except to nest and roost. They do every-thing else airborne. They feed, mate, drink, bathe and even snooze on the wing. Feeding is easy, because 95% of their diet is flying insects, using their short but wide bills to capture prey. They skim across water to drink and sometimes scoop up aquatic bugs the same way. . . . .
The chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) is part of the swift family Apodidae, meaning “without feet.” They do have feet, of course, but very short and inept ones, making them clumsy on land and unable to land adroitly on branches. They are built to hang vertically inside hollow trees, chimneys and confined walls (sometimes even upside down, giving them the nickname “chimney bat”).
[Quoting Alonso Abugattas, “Roosting of Flying, the Chimney Swift Lives Up to its Name”, CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, 34(7):39 (October 2024).]
CHIMNEY SWIFTS flying over brick-and-mortar chimney (Ben Cvengros / Travis Audubon Society photo credit)
Thus, the Chimney Swift is at home in the air, winging it—rather than casually perching somewhere, waiting for the next crawling bug to creep by—and so they are easily seen when they perform their aerial acrobatics.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. (Psalm 100:1)
What is making a “joyful noise”? It is commanded is Scripture, whatever it is – see Psalm 66:1; 81:1; 95:1-2; 98:4; 98:4; 100:1.
To many, the noise of circuitous swifts is just that, a screeching-like screaming noise — not the kind of “music” that King David would have included in his orchestra-supported choir (1st Chronicles 15:16). But to a bird-lover, the aerial call of this air-zooming insectivore is a “joyful noise”, installed and directed by the Composer and Giver of all birdsong (and other avian vocalizations). Yes, as others ignore them, I enjoy hearing the energetic calls of Common Swifts (Apus apus), as they zip around, in hunting packs, de-bugging the lower airspace during the bug-filled days of summer.
CHIMNEY SWIFT (Greg Harber / Alabama Birding Trails photo credit)
The Chimney Swift’s migratory behavior, as well as their propensity for flying (rather than perching) is described by ornithologist Donald Stokes:
The arrival of swifts in late spring is an exciting moment. You will probably first hear their chittering calls, then look up and see their small bodies and curved, bladelike wings slicing through the air in graceful arcs. Their constant flight throughout the day makes them both physically and experientially remote from our earthbound living. But even so, bending back your neck to see only sky and these streamlined birds gliding about can draw you into their world of flight—so much so that when you again look down it may take you a moment to reorient yourself to the world of the flightless.
More than any of our other common birds, the Swift’s life is lived on the wing. As migration gets under way, large flocks can be seen in the early morning flying in formation over possible roosting sites and calling loudly all the time. Then, as it starts to get dark, they begin to dive into the roost, sometimes forming a steady stream out of the airborne flock.
[quoting Donald W. Stokes, STOKES NATURE GUIDES (A GUIDE TO BIRD BEHAVIOR), volume I (Boston, MA: Little Brown & Company, 1979), page 85.]
So, like busy Chimney Swifts, we should be busy at our daily activities, making a joyful noise –whistling (or singing)—while we work.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. (Psalm 98:4)
As a range map (see below, from Wikipedia) shows, Chimney Swifts are migratory birds, using the eastern half of America’s Lower 48 as their summer breeding grounds – yet where do they go for over-wintering?
By the fall, the swifts are in migration. For years, it was a mystery where they went — until 1943, when 13 leg bands were turned in by [native] people in eastern Peru, with eight of them having been banded in Tennessee. Since then, they have been found to overwinter in parts of Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and recently in Colombia.
[Quoting Alonso Abugattas, “Roosting of Flying, the Chimney Swift Lives Up to its Name”, CHESAPEAKE BAY JOURNAL, 34(7):39 (October 2024).]
RANGE MAP of CHIMNEY SWIFTS (Wikipedia map)
So, there! Chimney Swifts are long-distance migrants, geographically resourceful in accordance with the providential phenology that God designed and installed into their software/hardware systems, fitting them to fill and flourish the habitats of God’s design.
What a wonder! Think of that, and how swarms of swifts silently glorify God, the next time that you see a brick-and-mortar chimney. Who knows? Maybe you are looking at a chimney that houses the nest of a Chimney Swift family.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by AestheticPhotos
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,”
(Deuteronomy 32:11 NKJV)
Bald Eagles (from the above article)
“Although Benjamin Franklin once disparaged (possibly in jest) the bald eagle’s “bad moral character,” America’s national bird upholds a high standard for family life by (mostly) remaining faithful. Following a kamikaze courtship ritual in which two birds lock talons and tumble end-over-end until they nearly hit the ground, the male and female settle into a period of domestic bliss marked by dad’s willingness to undertake incubation and feeding duties. The “divorce” rate for these birds is less than 5%, according to scientists. And while they spend large chunks of the year alone, bald eagles mark their fidelity with a shared long-term commitment to nest building: One such home put together by an eagle couple in Florida was found to measure 9.5 feet long and 20 feet deep. It holds the record for the largest bird’s nest ever documented.” (The largest bird’s nest was built by a pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and possibly their successors, near St Petersburg, Florida, USA and measured 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) wide and 6 m (20 ft) deep. It was examined in 1963 and was estimated to weigh more than two tonnes (4,409 lb).)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) by Aesthetic Photos
Atlantic Puffins
Atlantic Puffins by Bill Boothe, MD in the Isle of Mull Scotland
Ever since I posted the Lee’s Four Word Thursday – Vulture’s Eye, I have been curious about their eyes. Do they really have great vision? Is this verse in Job 28:7 the only reference to their eyes? The search began with that verse. Only the KJV, DRB versions use the word Vulture. (My E-sword versions). The other translations use Falcon, Hawk, and Kite. Apparently, all of the birds have great vision and are great hunters.
“There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:” Job 28:7 KJV
Turkey Vulture; Walton County, Georgia by William Wise
The Lord has provided these Vultures with great vision to enable them to find food, and actually help clean the landscape. If He can provide for the Birds of the Air, I know He can provide for us.
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” (Psalms 32:8 KJV)
The song by Dr. Richard Gregory, “Hiding in the Shadow of the Rock”. I am reposting it for an encouragement and comfort to all those suffering today from the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene. There are many all through Florida, Geogia, North and South Carolina, plus a few other states. They could use our many prayers.
The Robins are all endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. There are 46 members presently. They are not related to our American Robin.
Flame Robin by Ian
Most species have a compact build with a large, rounded head, a short, straight bill, and rounded wingtips. They occupy a wide range of wooded habitats, from subalpine to tropical rainforest, and mangrove swamps to semi-arid scrubland. All are primarily insectivorous, although a few supplement their diet with seeds. Hunting is mostly by perch and pounce, a favoured tactic being to cling sideways onto a treetrunk and scan the ground below without moving.
They have long-term pair-bonds and small family groups. Most members practice cooperative breeding, with all family members helping defend a territory and feed nestlings. Nests are cup-shaped, usually constructed by the female, and often placed in a vertical fork of a tree or shrub. Many species are expert at adding moss, bark or lichen to the outside of the nest as camouflage, making it very difficult to spot, even when it is in a seemingly prominent location.
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) cc Ross@Texas
The White-necked and Grey-necked Rockfowls are the only members of the Picatharitidae family. They are also called “bald crows’ and are found in the rain-forests of tropical west and central Africa. They have unfeathered heads, and feed on insects and invertebrates picked from damp rocky areas. Both species are totally non-migratory, being dependent on a specialised rocky jungle habitat.
They are large (33–38 centimetres (13–15 in) long) passerines with crow-like black bills, long neck, tail and legs. They weigh between 200–250 grams (7.1–8.8 oz). The strong feet and grey legs are adapted to terrestrial movement, and the family progresses through the forest with long bounds on the ground. The wings are long but are seldom used for long flights. Rockfowl are generalized feeders, taking a wide range of invertebrate prey.
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4 NKJV)
The Rockjumpers are medium-sized insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Chaetops, which constitutes the entire family Chaetopidae. The two species, the Cape Rockjumper,, and the Drakensberg Rockjumper, are endemic residents of southern Africa. The Cape Rockjumper is a resident of the West Cape and SW East Cape, and the Orange-breasted (or Drakensberg) Rockjumper is distributed in the Lesotho highlands and areas surrounding this in South Africa. These are birds with mostly brown and red plumage. Both with long, white tipped black tails, black throats, broad white submoustachial lines, rufous or orange bellies and rumps and grey and black patterned backs and wings.[The iris is red and the bills and legs are black. Their wings are very small and they do not fly very often. They spend most of their lives running and jumping among rocks and grasses while hunting insects.
Rail-babbler (Eupetes macrocerus) by Peter Ericsson
The Rail-babbler or Malaysian Rail-babbler (Eupetes macrocerus) is a strange, rail-like, brown and pied inhabitant of the floor of primary forest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (the nominate subspecies macrocerus), as well as Borneo (ssp. borneensis), distantly related to African crow-like birds. Its population has greatly decreased, however, it is locally still common in logged forest or on hill-forest on slopes. The species is poorly known and rarely seen, in no small part due to its shyness.
Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2 ESV)
“And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered.” (Jonah 4:6-7 NKJV)
Jonah was angry and the Lord kept showing him compassion in this chapter. I am very thankful that the Lord shows us compassion.
While eating supper, a couple of Mottled Ducks came up in the yard looking for food. Normal situation as many ducks and other birds come to the feeders. Yet, this is the first Mottled Duck this fall. They migrate down for the winter and we were surprised to see them already.
Working on the Birdwatching Thru the Bible series for posts gave me an idea. Wonder if I could start with a known bird, a.k.a. Mottled Duck, and find a reference to them in the Bible? Sort of reverse Birds of the Bible.
After searching for “Duck” and other birds of that sort, Quess what? NO RESULTS! Then I went to All About Birds – Mottled Duck to check its scientific name.
Not to be detoured, I went back to the scriptures, and sure enough, they are in there.
“So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, AND EVERY WINGED BIRD ACCORDING TO ITS KIND. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:21-23 NKJV)
Notice it said they were to “Be fruitful and multiply.” Come this winter when the “snowbirds” or “winter visiting birds” come down, we will notice their fruitfulness.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks across the pond in winter.
Is there a “correct” way to go birdwatching in the Bible? I doubt it. You can start with a verse in the Bible that talks about a specific bird or see a bird and try to find it mentioned in the Bible. Either way, you will discover the Great Creator of birds and His many promises to them and to us.
As we read through our Bible, many times we end up birdwatching without even trying. In a passage your reading, you find a type of bird mentioned. Do you make a mental note or write down the bird’s name? Many of us “birdwatchers” have our eyes and ears perk up, and we become curious. Well, at least I do.
Looking back through previous post, I spotted this one: Birdwatching Without Birdwatching. We were just out driving and spotted four Eagles. That is what happens while reading scripture. Stay curious. Whether it’s birds, animals, truths about any topic, especially scriptural truths. Many times, using a concordance will help you find other references to that same topic. Compare scripture with scripture.
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 