Hooded Merganser Diving Duck, Georgia, by William Wise
Here we go again with another anniversary of the blog. Around February 13th or so, was the 12 anniversary of Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus. During this year, we hit the two million visitor mark. Wow!
Eastern Phoebe on Beautyberry 12-19-19
Looking at all the articles written about the 11th anniversary, I’ll let this one be simple. I just reread all the comments and encouragement that you sent last year. Those were and are again so appreciated. Now, the blog has slowed down some, but we are still blogging. Because of health and our new house, most of my birding adventures seem to be out my back door. I love the avian visitors!
This year, William Wise has joined us with some very interesting articles and photos. Welcome Aboard, William!! Dr. Jim has continued to contribute articles, which are always enjoyable. Ian Montgomery is still sending posts, and Emma Forster continues to enlighten us with her stories. Me, I’ve written less, but we are still at it.
The Lord is always faithful and keeps us interested in His Creation.
Stay tuned to see what this new year of blogging will discover about our Avian Wonders from the Lord.
(9) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
(10) And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;
(11) but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.
(12) For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. (2 Corinthians 8:9-12 NKJV)
I trust the last two posts have been informative and a blessing. Eleventh Anniversary and Eleventh Anniversary II. It still amazes me how the Lord would choose to use us in even a small way. If you have followed Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures very long, you know I believe that all these beautiful birds are a gift from the Lord’s Creative hand. They did not evolve from some blob or a dinosaur. The Bible has given us too many proofs of this, unless you have chosen not to believe His Word. I have no problem believing the following verses:
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his 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 fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” (Genesis 1:21-23 KJV)
Watching Birds at MacDill AFB Shore
Nor believing that Adam named those first critters, including the birds:
“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. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:19-20 NKJV)
Of course today, the I.O.C. gets together with many ornithologist from around the world to name birds. Adam didn’t need a committee at that time. He was the only human present. Eve came after the naming. [They, IOC, have increased their numbers by over 400 newly named birds since the Birds of the World section was added.]
Black-capped Foliage-gleaner (Philydor atricapillus) by Dario Sanches
Back to the reviewing of the past eleven years. From the beginning, the Lord’s Word about the birds has been the main part as I tried to find the various birds mentioned in the Bible. From there is has grown in various ways, but always, God’s Words are mentioned. Almost all of our writers, that thankfully add to this blog, believe that these fantastic birds are from God’s Hand.
The Seventh Anniversary in 2015 revealed that there had been 1.3 million visits and there were over 1,100 followers. Wow! By then Golden Eagle, Dr. James J. S. Johnson and Emma Foster were writing articles. Enough to have their own page in the menu [left side].
Must have skipped the 8th and 9th anniversaries, but much was going on. The Birds of the Bible for Kids blog was being re-fired up and most of the articles were move back over to there.
The Tenth anniversary had me Really Kicking Up A Dust Storm, sometime during those years, somehow, this site was hacked. Many of the photos used in post were GONE. The “pipe dream” of having a photo of every bird in the world blew up. This really involved much work to fix all the broken links that caused. Now in the Birds of the World, the list of the birds are there, but with some photos at the end of the page. [This was the only way to fix hundreds of broken links.]
If you have a blog or are thinking about starting one, they are enjoyable, but there can be issues that can “spoil the vines. “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” (Song of Solomon 2:15 KJV) Do we throw in the towel, or do we continue? So far, we have continued. Else we wouldn’t be celebrating 11 years of blogging.
The Lord has been very gracious. We have made many friends over the years because of this blog. I feel like I know some of you personally, even though we probably won’t meet until we arrive in heaven. Thanks for all the friendships that have developed over these many years. The Lord truly has been blessing.
Tomorrow, I hope to add at least one more post to this anniversary remembrances.
“Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,” (1 Chronicles 16:12 NKJV)
Yesterday, the Eleventh Anniversary of Blogging About Birds article mentioned our early beginnings for this blog. Today, I’d like to continue with what the Lord has enabled us to do. Over the years, there have been Anniversary articles written. Each one tried to update the latest events, but also, to look back and thank the Lord for His blessings. The Lord wants us to “Remember.” His blessings.
“Remember to magnify His work, Of which men have sung.” (Job 36:24 NKJV)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) by Dan
Here are six of those years:
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.” (Psalms 143:5 NKJV)
Actually, yesterday, I used a quotes from Jim Elliot, but was actually thinking of a quote I used in the Happy One Year Anniversary! article. This is what happens as you age. :) Both men were great missionaries and showed tremendous insight in their quotes.
“Our pastor just reminded us of a quote by William Carey, an English Missionary to India:
“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”
It appears that I forgot to produce a Third or Fourth year anniversary article. Plenty was going on. The number of visitors to this blog, for which I am thankful for everyone who visits every time, was up to 250,000 on Apr. 9, 2011. 500,000 visits by Mar. 1, 2012, and about 850,000 by the time the Fifth Anniversary rolled around. Formed by Him started around the beginning of 2012. Also, many very talented photographers allowed me the permission to use their photos. There has been a list of them in the right column for years.
White-throated Sparrow by Ray Barlow
In 2013, I remembered to produce a Fifth Blog Anniversary post. There I mentioned the second blog site, Birds of the Bible for Kids. That website was started to get back to the roots of the whole purpose of blogging. That is, introducing young people to the Birds that are mentioned in the Bible. Like this main blog, it also has had growing pains. It was started, then I killed it and moved all the articles over here. Then last year, I decided to restart it back up. Much of the ups and downs of doing the “kids blog” has been due to my health issues. Right now it is up and running, not full speed, but then, neither am I running at full speed. Though I am much improved from last summer’s back surgery. Let’s hope and pray that the young people’s blog starts producing more articles.
I forgot again on the Sixth anniversary of the blog, but WordPress reminded me. Never Give Up
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.” (Psalms 37:23-25 NKJV)
Enough for now. I trust you are enjoying seeing how the Lord leads in our lives. Who ever thought that six years into doing a blog would have lead me to that point. I’ll tell you more in the next part.
Whatever your talent or abilities, if you know the Lord as your Savior, let Him use you. This is just a little blog in the midst of millions, yet the Lord has been using it. That is what I read from your remarks. Thank you for visiting over the years.
“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;” Job 12:7
The idea for the Birds of the Bible lessons began when we were members of Bethany Baptist Church in Avon Park, Florida. I used to carry a laptop into a junior Sunday School class, and for five minutes each week, present a different bird mentioned in the Bible.
Then, we moved up to Winter Haven and began attending Faith Baptist Church, where we are still members. For two years there was no outlet for me to present my birds. When Stephen, the assistant to the pastor, at that time, became aware of what I did, he offered me a chance to post on The Fountain. [The church’s blog] I have written about this before, but am still surprised at how the Lord has allowed me to continue this adventure for so long. On February 15th, 2019, it will be eleven years since this began.
The Fountain was/is on the Blogger platform where I cut my “blogging teeth.” They stopped using the blog in 2013, but have kept all their post. So, all my beginning blogs are still there, along with my learning process. Lee’s Birdwatching Adventure was begun so I could learn how to layout articles for the church blog.
On July 05, 2008, Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus was created on the WordPress platform, where it still is today. All those original articles were moved over to the new blog and removed from the old one. What they look like on the church’s blog is how they looked originally.
When all this began, it never crossed my mind that the Lord would allow it to grow to where it is today. Our pastor is always challenging us to give the Lord whatever talent or ability we have. Let Him decide how it is to be used, and be willing to let Him use us.
“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)
Thank you Lord for letting me love you and your created critters, especially the birds of the air. Another saying our pastor uses is from Missionary Jim Elliot: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” There has been many hours given, and I won’t know until heaven to find out what rewards these efforts may have earned.
Looking through Jim Elliot’s quotes on that link, I found these also:
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. ― Jim Elliot
“God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.” ― Jim Elliot
“Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!”― Jim Elliot
“Lord, make my way prosperous not that I achieve high station, but that my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.”― Jim Elliot
“I couldn’t have asked for more than God in deliberate grace has surprised me with!”― Jim Elliot
Again, all of these efforts would be of no avail, if you, the reader, had not stopped by to read these articles. Thank you for all your visits over the years. We trust you will continue to stop in to see what new Birdwatching Adventures we have written about.
One of my most favorite videos was on the Eagles post, which isn’t currently working on the Fountain post, The Birds of the Bible ~ Eagles
but here it is:
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.” (Job 9:25-26 NKJV)
Here are some of the first Birds of the Bible articles on The Fountain:
Well, I really have a dust storm brewing behind the scenes of this blog. So, if things don’t exactly work right for a few days, BEWARE!
Tomorrow is the 10th Anniversary of Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures. On February 16th of 2008, the first post came out. At that time I was using Blogspot. Then in July of that year, I switched to WordPress, and have enjoyed having the blog here. The name was changed to Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus. That is when other topics besides birds began appearing. Later, I started Birds of the Bible for Kids blog to house many of the Birds of the Bible articles but written for the younger readers. [Kids] It grew from there.
Then about four years ago, I closed down that site for several reasons, like “old age” and needing more “naps.” The blog has continued to exist by having links over to Leesbird.com. The yearly fee has also been continually paid.
Now, I have a desire to re-open that blog and make it active again. As my regular readers are aware, there were missing photos and broken links discovered throughout the blog. I have spent many days and weeks, with the Lord’s help, tracing down and fixing many of them. At one time there were over 4,000 broken links. As of yesterday, there were 610 left to fix. [One reason blogs haven’t been as often as previously.]
While the links have been fixed, those older original posts were revisited. They were good and need to be reproduced again. It was actually fun finding those older blogs. Then the wheels started turning. Maybe the Kids blog needs to be brought back to life.
There are 144 verses in the KJV that tell us to “remember.” So, maybe we should remember and remind the newer generation of God’s truths. Guess that would apply to truthful posts.
“Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:7 KJV)
“Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.” (Job 36:24 KJV)
“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.” (Psalms 77:11 KJV)
“Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;” (Psalms 105:5 KJV)
Should we not share the Wonders of God’s Creation of birds and critters to our younger generation?
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.” (Psalms 143:5 KJV)
Oh, yes. The Dust storm! My plan is to move the Bible Birds and the Kid’s Section (with all it’s sections) to the Birds of the Bible for Kids blog. In the transition, there will some broken links caused by all of that. They will be mended as quickly as possible. In time, when all is finished, hopefully without too much time, all will be well again. The post being moved are going to be given current dates by being refreshed and posted anew.
In all the busyness of things, the anniversary of this blog, slipped by unnoticed. The 15th of February was the 9th Anniversary of Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus. Today, we are getting close to 1.7 million views since the blog was moved to WordPress in July of 2009. Am not sure how many hits were made to the original blog that started out on Blogger. But the Lord has be gracious.
We now have had visitors from 228 Countries. Wow! Who would have thought? I was excited in 2009 and I am still excited in 2017 at what the Lord had done with this blog.
I never imagined that the Lord would bless my efforts to this extent. From that start, I made a blog of my own on Blogspot.com so that I could learn how to post on the church’s blog. Once I began learning how to blog, it has been growing every since. Then in July, the blog was moved over to here at WordPress.com. This is a great place to host a blog/website (as I call it) and it is free.
Of course, Dan, my husband, has been our main photographer (Dan’s Pix), and we have been blessed with the permission to use the photos of some mighty fine photographers. Thank all of you for your expertise and permission. Check the sidebar out under Photography for links to the photographers.
Most importantly, Praise the Lord, for His blessings on this blog. Had the Lord not created everything, we would not have anything to write about, nor would we be here to write it.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? … O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psa 8:3,4,9 KJV)
Our pastor just reminded us of a quote by William Carey, an English Missionary to India:
Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.
Great Blue Heron by Dan
I am not sure this was attempted as a “great thing,” but it was attempted to honor the Lord. That is a very great thing, and God has turned that attempt into a blog that has been visited over 10,000 times just since July. Many of those visits have come from around the world. Thank all of you for your visits.
Carey also said, “If I begin a thing I must go through with it!” This blog has been started and we trust we will continue to keep writing about God’s wonderful creation, especially His birds, and the joy of observing all God’s marvelous handiwork.
Wow! Has it now been seven years since I started writing the Birds of the Bible articles? February 2008 is the original beginning month of the blog. It was started using Blogspot, but moved here to WordPress in July of that year. If you take a look at the articles below you will see how the Lord has been blessing over these years.
Today with almost 1.3 million visits (with WordPress), over 1,100 followers and 216 Flags of countries that you have visited from, I am amazed. Here is a quote from the 1st Anniversary blog:
Our pastor just reminded us of a quote by William Carey, an English Missionary to India:
Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.
I am not sure this was attempted as a “great thing,” but it was attempted to honor the Lord. That is a very great thing, and God has turned that attempt into a blog that has been visited over 10,000 times just since July. Many of those visits have come from around the world. Thank all of you for your visits.
Carey also said, “If I begin a thing I must go through with it!” This blog has been started and we trust we will continue to keep writing about God’s wonderful creation, especially His birds, and the joy of observing all God’s marvelous handiwork.
Because of this blog many you have become great friends that most we have never met personally, and you are from around the world, where Dan and I will never visit. Yet many of you will be sharing eternity with us and we will meet as we share the presence of Our Saviour. What a thought!
Thanks to the many writers that have added greatly to the blog; Ian, Dottie, Emma, Golden Eagle (Baron), James J S Johnson, Stephen, and others.
Thank you for your visits! Thank you for your friendships! Especially THANK YOU LORD!
I would like to use Paul’s words to express my feelings:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:2-6 NKJV)
Yes, I do pray for many of you even by name. I especially pray for those of you who do not know the peace of knowing my Savior and the Creator of these fantastic birds.
Some of the previous articles about the anniversaries:
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. (Psalms 37:23-25 NKJV)
*
(From an email link)
*
Just got a notification from WordPress that today is my Sixth Anniversary here. Wow! Has it really been 6 years? Praise the Lord! Thanks all of you for the visits you have made to the blog. This blog started about 5 months earlier on another service.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6 NKJV)
I just realized that this blog, Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus, is now 5 years old. On February 15, 2008 I posted the first article on our church blog, The Fountain. At that time I began my own blog on Blogspot and then moved everything over here to WordPress and have been here since then. It was named Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures (original site) and later added the Plus as more articles about other topics were added.
The Fountain was a printed newsletter produced at church and it eventually became only an online version. It has developed over the years, just as this blog has. Stephen, our Assistant to the Pastor, is the reason that this blog exists. He invited me to write there and the rest is history.
In July of 2009, Ian Montgomery gave permission to reproduce his newsletters and also to use his photos. That started the Ian’s Bird of the Week series. In March of 2010, A J Mithra started doing articles for the blog. Ian is Australian and A J is Indian. We have other guest writers who add articles for the blog also.
Bald Eagle flying by Dave’s BirdingPix
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? (Job 39:27 ESV)
The other off-shoot blog:
The Birds of the Bible For Kids was begun in July of 2012 and is still developing. It has already had almost 5,800 views. My hearts desire is to get busy on this and show young people God’s Creative Hand though the Birds of the Bible, but written more to their level. (Update 10/3/14 – Move to Kid’s Section)
The Lord has blessed these sites way beyond what I ever imagined or prayed about when it began. The main site right now has had 868,500 views since moving it in July of 2008. All three of them added together is over a million views. Wow! Praise the Lord!
Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus) by Ian
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her feathers with yellow gold. (Psalms 68:13 NKJV)
What about the future? Lord willing, I hope to keep finding neat things about the birds in the Bible and in the world to write about. Maybe some more writers will contribute to this adventure. Maybe more photographers and videographers will give their permission to use their images of these fantastic birds. (Of course, I really love one of my photographers, my husband, Dan) Only the Lord know the end from the beginning.
Without all of you, who stop by to read these articles and see the amazing birds, it would be useless. Thank you from the bottom of heart and may you receive a blessing from something you see and read.
I am so thankful that He has enabled me to write about His beautiful and delightful avian wonders.
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV)
Today is our 49th Anniversary. Wow! Doesn’t seem that long. We are thankful for the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us over those years. We have not been perfect, but we have tried to live our lives for Christ and honor Him. He, the Lord, has been very gracious to us over the years. Dan has been a super husband also. Wouldn’t trade him.
This along with some other things going on the last two weeks have kept my blog a little slow lately. Last week we rearranged the room where I do the blog and the computer was offline for a few days. This week has been photo taking for the Music Camp at church and Doctors appointments. On Tuesday I received news that my left eye has a problem. I know it has been blurring on me lately. That is my picture-taking eye. So, yesterday, it was off to an eye specialist to be examined further. Long story short, I have a pucker in my retina. For now it is on a watch mode for a few months. Needless to say, I have been a little edgy and blogging has not been on my mind. The news yesterday was encouraging and I know it is in the Lord’s Hands. Your prayers are appreciated.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV)
Tricolored Heron Looking at Lake Parker Park
We did get to go birdwatching for a few minutes last week and managed to see Ospreys, Mourning Doves, 15 Wood Storks, 4 Sandhill Cranes, 15 White Ibises, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Anhingas, Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Egrets, Pigeons, Boat-tailed Grackles, 10 Tricolored Herons, Family of Common Gallinules, Blue Jay, Fish Crows, Rooster and 2 hens, Limpkin, Purple Gallinules – one displaying (first time ever saw that happen), Cattle Egrets, Eurasian Collared Doves. Those are in the order spotted as we rode up to Lake Parker and then home.
Thanks for all of you who stop by the blogs. Your visits are appreciated and trust that you receive a blessing and the information you are looking for.
The Lord has continued to bless our efforts with this blog. If you read over last years blog, “Happy One Year Anniversary!“, you will see how it began. During this last year there have been more additions. April Lorier gave permission to use some of her articles as did Donna Watkins. Their articles are found in the Guest Authors section. Then Ian Montgomery, one of the photographers we are using, gave permission to turn his Bird of the Week newsletter into a blog series.
Speaking of photographers, the list of their links in the sidebar is growing. I am very thankful for each one of them that has given permission for their photos and videos to be used on the blog. There are now two videographers included in the list. The fantastic work of all of them has greatly enhanced this blog.
Savannah Sparrow singing by Ray
Of course, Dan and I continue to go out birdwatching, when we can. Those articles are spread throughout. I had started three different blogs, but decided to incorporate them back into Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus, this main blog. The “PLUS Index” contains the Creation articles, “References” contains Nave’s and Torrey’s Topical studies, and “Birds – World” contains the Birds of the World. There are other sections for the Birds in Hymns, Birdwatching, etc. The “Birds of the Bible” articles, which is what started the idea of this blog, are reproduced on the only other blog I maintain. The Birds of the Bible blog only has those articles. I almost stopped it, but readers wanted it to continue. It is doing well and has now had 13,733 pages visited so far. (Stopped it in 2013) This main blog had its 84,000th page visited last night. (Those numbers are for 1.5 years) Thanks to all of you who have visited this site.
Those numbers were not mentioned to boast, but to give credit were it is due. The Lord is the One who gave me the ideas and the ability to do this. He is the One who created all these birds that we get the privilege to write about and show the photos and videos of them doing what He created them to do. Through the internet, these words and photos go to places we would never get to. There, they provide information, encouragement, and blessings to those who view these pages. (At least, that is what the readers tell us.) He, the Lord Jesus, is the One who gets the credit.
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalms 104:24) I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. (Psalms 104:33-34 KJV)
Today, Dan and I are celebrating our 46th anniversary. It is hard to believe that it has been that long. We are very thankful for all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on us over the years. Are we perfect, no, but we love each other and have made a commitment to “hang in there” through good times or bad, ups or downs. The Bible tells us:
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18 KJV)
Me Feeding The Beggars!
We have become a good team over the years. Even now as we go birdwatching. I love to do the birdwatching and he likes to take the photos. And that is only one of the ways we blend our personalities into one “togetherness.” Most important of all, we together and individually have “togetherness” with our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since this blog is about birdwatching, what can we learn from them about staying together. We find throughout the birding world and other critters, that many of the mates stick together for life.
But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (Job 12:7 NKJV)
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 