ALASKA’S BALD EAGLE by James J. S. Johnson

August 29, 2013 by James J. S. Johnson

ALASKA’S BALD EAGLE

Dr. James J. S. Johnson

Associate Professor of Apologetics, ICR ( jjohnson@icr.org )

The ecological world of Southeastern Alaska hosts a diversity of animals — creatures of the air (like the Bald Eagle), creatures of the land (like the Alaskan Moose), as well as creatures of its freshwater rivers and streams (like Pacific Salmon), lakes and ponds (like Rainbow Trout). This article will look at one of those creatures, the Bald Eagle.

The national bird of the United States of America, since 1782, is the bald eagle. The backside of many quarter-dollar coins (the silver coins which most Americans call “quarters”) show an American bald eagle with outstretched wings. Mexico’s most famous eagle is the golden eagle, which is a kind of “cousin” to the bald eagle. The bald eagle’s scientific name is “Haliaeetus leuocephalus”, meaning “white-headed sea-eagle” (which is a very accurate name). The adult bald eagles have their heads (including their neck area) covered in white feathers, and also their tail feathers are white; the rest of the adult bald eagle’s feathers are black or blackish-grey. Their sharp curl-ended beaks and their talons (feet) are yellow. A bald eagle is fully grown in about four or five years after its hatching.

How big is the adult bald eagle? The bald eagles is a very large bird; it often weighs about ten pounds, though it may weigh as much as thirteen pounds. The bald eagle, when fully grown, is almost three feet long and its wingspan can be as wide as six or seven feet when fully spread out! The tough-looking eagles have a voice that seems almost silly when compared with their rough toughness – their voices make sounds like thin squealing or squeaky cackling.

Where do bald eagles live? Eagles sometimes migrate, flying south to avoid super-cold weather in Canada’s inland forests. However, many bald eagles, especially those which live near coastal waters, do not migrate at all. Bald eagles like to live on land near waters where fish (their favorite food) live, such on seacoasts, by rivers, by large lakes, or in marshy areas where flowing stream-waters provide homes for fish. Bald eagles usually live in shoreline areas where cold water flows nearby, such as where snow-melt-watered mountain creeks empty into a estuarial bay ( a place where flowing freshwater mixes with tide-washing ocean water).

The highest concentration (most crowded gathering) of bald eagles in the world is in southeast Alaska, where the Chilkat River empties into the tidewaters near the town of Haines, a picture-postcard coastal town originally founded as a Presbyterian mission. At the Chilkat River’s emptying point more than 3,000 bald eagles congregate annually, during autumn, for an all-you-can-eat salmon feast. What do bald eagles like to eat? Bald eagles are hawk-like “birds of prey”, meaning that they like to eat meat from smaller animals (like fish) that they hunt and kill for food. Bald eagles especially like to eat salmon when then return to coastal streams and rivers during spawning seasons! (After salmon reproduce fertilized eggs for the next generation of salmon, the parents salmon are fatally exhausted (so tired out that they are dying) and they move about in shallow water where it is easy for bald eagles to see them and to grab them for food). If an eagle has an adequate food supply, which the eagles of Alaska usually do, they can live for twenty or thirty years, or may even live for forty years!

Bald eagles have super-human eyesight (eyes able to see distances much farther than humans can see). Their eyes are so sharp that the eagles can chase fish swimming near the surface of water, then zoom down near the water surface to grab the unsuspecting fish with their extra-strong talons (clawed-feet-like legs that can clutch things as if they were hands), then fly away with the fish to eat it (or to share it with its family). An adult eagle’s beak is about two inches long and about one inch deep at its hook-like curled tip. The sharp curled tip of the beak can rip into a fish easily, for eating convenience. Sometimes bald eagles, while flying, will attack another fish-catching bird, the osprey (also called “fish hawk”), in order to get caught fish that the osprey is carrying. Sometimes an osprey will intentionally drop its fish so that the eagle will fly down to catch the dropping fish; this allows the osprey to escape the attacking eagle – it’s better for the osprey to lose a fish than to lose its life! Bald eagles eat other small animals, including other fish, ducks, seagulls, and other birds.

Where can eagles be easily seen? In the coastal forestlands of southeastern Alaska (especially Juneau, Alaska’s capital city), many of the trees that cover sloping hillsides near the shoreline of rivers or bays of water are often filled with perching bald eagles. The bald eagle prefers to make its nest in a tall tree, where sticks are gathered and arranged to provide the bald eagle family with a huge house of sticks and other materials. (Another kind of eagle, the golden eagle, prefers to make its home in rocky places on top of cliffs, and sometimes bald eagles do the same. Baby golden eagles and baby bald eagles lookalike, but if the eaglet grows up to have a white head and a white tail it is a bald eagle.) From the roadside, if you look up at the trees that are near Juneau’s shoreline, you will see many bald eagles perched in the high branches of those dark evergreen trees. The eagles are easy to see, because their bald heads contrast in color against the dark green trees, so the trees look like Christmas trees decorated in popcorn balls, except that the white spots that look like popcorn are really the heads of the bald eagles!

What kind of family life do eagles have? Usually an eagle family has a father eagle and a mother eagle (who both act like they are “married” to each other), and a small number of hatched eagle children (one, two, or three) until the smaller eagles grow up large enough to fly away and start their own families (with mates for themselves). Unlike many animals, the mother eagles are usually larger in size than the father eagles. Bald eagle mates usually try to have one or more new eagle babies each spring. After the eggs are laid the parent eagles take turns incubating them, to keep them warm enough to grow until it is time for hatching out of their eggs. Whenever parent eagles walk around near the eggs they walk very cautiously. Of course, if they did not, many eagle eggs would be accidentally broken by careless contact with a sharp eagle talon!

When eagles are grown up, at about four years of age, they find a mate to start a family with; so, a fully grown male eagle and a fully grown female eagle become an eagle pair, kind of like getting married to each other. The eagle couple will stay together as long as they both live (unless one is captured and prevented from returning to its mate). Not all birds stay with their mates for life, but the bald eagle does. The eagle couple will soon become parents, with the female eagle becoming a mother by laying large white fertile eggs that will one day hatch into baby eagles – called eaglets. The baby eagles are very hungry but they cannot fly to get their own food, just as many other kinds of babies need their parents to care for them, and protect them, and feed them.

The parent eagles are very protective of their baby eaglets; they will attack any other bird that flies too close to the eagle nest, so ravens, gulls, and hawks better stay away and respect the eagle family’s privacy! The baby eagles do not have “bald”-looking heads, because their heads do not have white feathers. Baby eagles are blotchy brown-grey colored and begin their hatchling life with light grey-colored fuzzy feathers called “down”. Young eagles are called nestlings during the time that they live in their parents’ nest. It takes a while for the little eaglets to grow enough strength in their little wings so they can be ready to fly like their parents.

When a young eagle finally learns to fly it is called a fledgling. Eagles are such heavy birds that they don’t build their houses, called “nests”, near the ground. Eagles build their nests high up in trees or on top of rocky mountains or cliffs, so that they can jump out into the air and glide on rising warm air currents. Some air currents are made of warm rising air, so an eagle can jump into such warm air and “ride” it up like an elevator, then the eagle can glide from one air current to another , until it wants to fly down. These rising air currents are called “thermals”. The eagle that soars on a thermal is mostly at rest, because he is trusting the thermal to carry him along for a “ride” in the air. The eagle soaring on such a thermal air current is a reminder of how we should trust and depend upon God to carry us through life’s adventures, as we travel from one day to the next. By “riding” on upwardly spiraling thermal air currents eagles can save their energy, because too much wing-flapping can waste an eagle’s energy and cause it to get too tired to fly. Like eagles, we can waste a lot of energy if we fail to depend on God, because worrying and distrusting God wastes a lot of mental energy and emotions! (See Isaiah 40:31.)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isa 40:31 KJV)

By conserving (carefully using, not wasting) his energy, the bald eagle can flap his wings only when he needs to, and he can rise to very high places in the air, which also means that the eagles can reach high places on top of mountains or cliffs that other animals cannot reach. So an eagles’ nest (called an “eyrie”) can be far away from egg-eating animals that might bother parent eagles and try to eat their eggs before they have a chance to hatch into baby eaglets (the baby eaglets are called “hatchlings” when they first hatch). Bald eagles, like other kinds of eagles, often live in rocky places in high places, so it is not surprising that people (including Biblical authors) compare highness with flying and nesting behaviors of eagles.

One example of highness being compared to the nesting habits of eagles is found in the Bible, in the Book of Obadiah 1:3-4, where the eagle is described as a creature that lives in high places, much closer to the stars than do most other animals (or people). Another Old Testament book in the Bible, the Book of Job, refers (at 39:27) to the eagle as mounting up into the air by God’s command (because God programs eagles to fly up into the air the way that they do), and as nesting in high places (because God programs eagles to do this also).

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. (Oba 1:3-4 KJV)

Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? (Job 39:27 KJV)

Eagles are good parents, training their sons and daughters to live like eagles (see Deuteronomy 32:11). Eagles can fly, like dive-bombing airplanes, at great speeds (see 2^nd Samuel 1:23 and Lamentations 4:19). Their strength is renewed from time to time, as their feather-cover adjusts to their growing bodies (see Isaiah 40:31 and Psalms 103:5). Eagles are known for their gracefulness and dignity (see Proverbs 30:19). In fact, eagles fly very high in the air as a matter of habit – above most other birds (see Proverbs 23:5).

During winter bald eagles like to live near seacoasts or near large fast-moving rivers where fish are abundant. Often, bald eagles must migrate south to avoid wintering in places where the food supply is too sparse or the weather is too harsh. During spring, when the new baby eagles are hatched from eggs, bald eagles usually prefer to live in northern lands, such as Alaska and Canada, but some start their springtime families as far south as California on the West Coast and as far south as Virginia on the East Coast. Since a thermal spring keeps the Chilkat River warm enough to prevent it from freezing in late summer and early autumn, many salmon continue to congregate in that unfrozen river during the autumn – this is like an “all-you-can-eat” salmon dinner for Alaskan bald eagles!

One place other than Alaska where bald eagles are easily seen in the later summer is along certain parts of the Snake River near Jackson Hole, Wyoming (part of the Grand Tetons National Park), in nests built in the tops of old dead trees along the river’s forested shoreline. Of course, bald eagles are usually so high up in a tree (or soaring up in the air) that you really need to use binoculars (holding them with steady hands) to see the bald eagle’s colors, wings, talons, stern-looking face, curled beak, and clawed talons. Maybe learning about the salmon feasts of the Alaska bald eagles has made you hungry for some Alaska salmon! If so, you might visit my favorite salmon bake feasting-place, “Gold Creek Salmon Bake” a few miles outside of Juneau, Alaska, an Alaskan rainforest all-you-can-eat place near an old abandoned gold mine. But, if that’s not convenient for you at the moment, you might try buying some fresh salmon filets from your local grocery store, – and your family can enjoy a healthy protein-rich meal – a feast fit for the Bald Eagle, America’s national bird!

[The above text on Alaska’s Eagle is adapted from James J. S. Johnson’s “The Bald Eagle”; © AD2001-AD2013 James J. S. Johnson, here reprinted/used by permission.]

Bald Eagle Brings Nesting Material by Aesthetic Photos

Lee’s Addition:

What an interesting, informative and challenging article about the Bald Eagles. Thank you, Dr. Johnson, for giving permission to post it here.

I am looking forward to some more articles that he will be sharing with us here.

Vol 2, #6 – The Ring-necked Pheasant

August 28, 2013 by Lee

Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) “Ring-necked” for Birds Illustrated

From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.

THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

(RELOCATED – CLICK HERE)

American Woodcock – A Wonderfully Bizarre Bird

August 21, 2013 by Lee

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) on nest ©USFWS

The drought had been rather severe that summer, and the normally moist woodland was dry and parched. Suddenly, out of the brush, a chunky bird was frantically searching the soil for earthworms. Following behind, and looking as famished as their mama, were four of her wood-brown chicks. And as their mama stopped and probed the arid ground before her, the chicks looked on with eager expectation. But all at once, and without warning, mama bird performed an amazing feat! She lay her body flat along the ground and began drumming the surface with her wings. Minutes later, their hunger satisfied, this American Woodcock family disappeared into the dry undergrowth.

All birds reveal incredible design, but the American Woodcock has an interesting design feature in its behaviour as well.

We have been led to believe by the scientific establishment that birds, like the American Woodcock, are products of time and chance. That through natural processes and eons of time, they are the descendants of a common ancestor that sprang from the reptilian line.

On the other hand, the Word of the Creator states that birds were designed and created by Him, according to their own kind, on the fifth day. As a result, He considered them very good (Genesis 1:31).

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) ©WikiC

Chance vs design. Aimlessness vs plan and purpose. These are two fiercely competitive worldview’s. They are mutually exclusive. And, contrary to popular opinion, the essence of both can be described as the science of one person’s religion vs the science of another’s. Why? Because no one was there at the beginning! Scientifically speaking, the conditions of the early earth are unknown and hence cannot be duplicated. On the other hand, God was there! He is perfectly capable of communicating to His people.

When we look at His world, we find tremendous evidence of His fingerprints, so to speak—design and purpose.

For instance, how did drumming the ground bring the woodcock family from famine to feast? Amazingly enough, mama woodcock was aware of the habits of earthworms. She knew that in dry conditions, they squirm to the lower, moist depths of the soil. However, she was also aware of another quirk in their behaviour! When it rains, worms can sense the ground vibrations caused by raindrops. When this happens, they quickly propel themselves to the soil surface so they won’t drown. Therefore, when the mother beat the ground, she and her family were able to leave the area with their hunger pangs satisfied.

How did she know how to do that? What complicated series of events caused all of this information to come together in one little bird? Was it by chance and natural processes or was it creation with deliberate purpose?

Not only did it know the habits of the earthworms, this bird’s anatomy is highly complex as well. The eyes are located high on its head enabling it to see 360 degrees. Imagine being able to see, with overlapping vision allowing depth perception, both in front of and behind you. The ears are situated between the eyes and its eight-centimetre (three-inch) bill. This highly sophisticated hearing apparatus is better able to detect the sub-soil movement of its prey. Working together with its exquisitely attuned vision and hearing, are its sensitive feet. Designed to feel ground vibration, they help to pinpoint a worm’s location.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) chick ©WikiC

Being fairly certain that the worm is within reach, the bird pushes its bill into the ground. But this isn’t just any old bill! The flexible tip, which allows it to open and close in a tweezer fashion within tiny spaces, has highly sensitive nerve endings. It allows the woodcock to know that it has grasped its meal.
A nocturnal animal, the woodcock is probably best known for its bizarre courtship behaviour. At dusk, the male of the species will circle high in the sky on a spring night making a continual ‘twittering’ noise. At this highest point, he’ll suddenly dive in a zig-zag fashion toward the earth. It’s a most unusual display, completely captivating his mate-to-be. The three outer primary feathers not only make the strange sounds of this courting male, but also contribute greatly to his survival. When the woodcock is in danger of being discovered by a predator, it will explode from its concealment. In so doing, those feathers make such an unexpected and horrible noise, that often the predator is temporarily shocked. This brief moment is all the time the bird needs to make its escape!1

When it is realized how many of these complicated factors must come together, at the same time, just for the bird to survive, that all this could come from gradual, piecemeal evolution defies credibility.

The outdoors is chock full of unique and fascinating organisms, like the American Woodcock, just waiting to be discovered by both children and adults alike. All of creation, though now fallen from its original perfection, holds a wonder and fascination that finds its meaning in the Creator God who put it there! Evidence of His handiwork can be seen and understood. And evidence can be logically discussed in scientific circles, so be bold, be confident and be in awe of His creative abilities!

The world today needs more people who will proclaim the news in every land that Jesus Christ, the awesome Creator, came to us, lived amongst us, died and rose again for us!

‘Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest’ (Joshua 1:9).

by Tom Hennigan September 1, 1997

Tom Hennigan, B.S., M.S.,is an environmental educator with DeRuyter Central Schools, New York. He operates a creation ministry called, ‘Genesis Moment Ministries’.

Lee’s Addition:

The American Woodcock belongs to the Scolopacidae – Sandpipers, Snipes Family which has 96 species, of which 8 are Woodcocks.

“The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes colloquially referred to as the Timberdoodle, is a small chunky shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcocks spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where the birds’ brown, black, and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage.

Because of the male Woodcock’s unique, beautiful courtship flights, the bird is welcomed as a harbinger of spring in northern areas. It is also a popular game bird, with about 540,000 killed annually by some 133,000 hunters in the U.S. (Ugh!)

The American Woodcock is the only species of Woodcock inhabiting North America. Although classified with the sandpipers and shorebirds in Family Scolopacidae, the American Woodcock lives mainly in upland settings. Its many folk names include timberdoodle, bogsucker, night partridge, brush snipe, hokumpoke, and becasse.

The American Woodcock has a plump body, short legs, a large, rounded head, and a long, straight prehensile bill. Adults are 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) long and weigh 5 to 8 ounces (140 to 230 g). Females are considerably larger than males.] The bill is 2.5 to 2.75 inches (6.4 to 7.0 cm) long.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) 1891 ©WikiC

The plumage is a cryptic mix of different shades of browns, grays, and black. The chest and sides vary from yellowish white to rich tans. The nape of the head is black, with three or four crossbars of deep buff or rufous. The feet and toes, which are small and weak, are brownish gray to reddish brown.[8]

Woodcock have large eyes located high in the head, and their visual field is probably the largest of any bird, 360° in the horizontal plane and 180° in the vertical plane.

The Woodcock uses its long prehensile bill to probe in the soil for food, mainly invertebrates and especially earthworms. A unique bone-and-muscle arrangement lets the bird open and close the tip of its upper bill, or mandible, while it is sunk in the ground. Both the underside of the upper mandible and the long tongue are rough-surfaced for grasping slippery prey.

In Spring, males occupy individual singing grounds, openings near brushy cover from which they call and perform display flights at dawn and dusk, and if the light levels are high enough on moonlit nights. The male’s ground call is a short, buzzy peent. After sounding a series of ground calls, the male takes off and flies from 50 to 100 yards into the air. He descends, zigzagging and banking while singing a liquid, chirping song. This high spiralling flight produces a melodious twittering sound as air rushes through the male’s outer primary wing feathers.” (Wikipedia with editing)

Audios from xeno-canto

Links:

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

August 20, 2013 by Lee

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater ~ Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 8/20/13

I’m currently preparing photos for a digital version of the book Where to Find Birds in North-East Queensland by Jo Wieneke (http://www.nqbirds.com). I’m finding that many of these have not yet featured as bird of the week, so here’s one that I came across a photo this morning that appealed to me, one of an unusual-looking honeyeater, the Spiny-cheeked, taken not long after sunrise at Gluepot, the BirdLife Australia mallee reserve in South Australia. At the time, I was spending some time each morning at a hide overlooking a drinking trough waiting for Scarlet-chested Parrots http://www.birdway.com.au/psittacidae/scarlet_chested_parrot/index.htm.

The Spiny-cheeked is a bird of dry country, so the easiest way to photograph it is as watering places, and the second photo was taken in Central Queensland south of Torrens Creek near a dam, this time close to sunset. It is a widespread and common in the more arid parts of mainland Australia except tropical Australia north of about 19ºS and Tasmania. It also occurs in scrubby coastal areas, such as southern Victoria. Like many dry-country birds it is nomadic and appears only rarely in Northeastern Queensland, though I did see one in the garden in the first house I lived in Townsville in 2002.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis) by Ian

With a length of 23-26cm/9-10in, it’s quite large by honeyeater standards and the bare pink area on the face gives it some similarity to the Wattlebirds, also honeyeaters. Although it is the only member of the genus Acanthagenys, DNA studies have shown that it is related to both the Wattlebirds (Acanthocaera) and the Regent Honeyeater, another one with bare red skin, in this case around the eye. The Spiny-cheeked is quite vocal with a creaky, piping, rather Wattlebird-like song, often the first sign of its presence.

Feedback on the change in font was rather muted, with one in favour of the new one, one against it and one not liking the underlining of the scientific name. I can agree with all points of view and am undecided, though I’m using the new font for photos in the digital version of Jo Wieneke’s book. I’ve rather got used to it, though I’ve started putting the scientific name in grey to make the underlining less obvious as I’m constrained both by the convention of using either italics or underlining for scientific name and the lack of an italic option in an already italic-looking font. My thanks to those who took the trouble to respond.

Jo’s book has been out of print for a little while now, so the digital version is to fill the gap left by its disappearance from book shops. I’ll let you know when it is available: the aim is to publish it for Apple iBooks, Google PlayBooks and Amazon Kindle.

Best wishes
Ian

**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Bird Photos http://www.birdway.com.au/
Recorder Society http://www.nqrs.org.au

Lee’s Addition:

My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; (Pro 24:13 NKJV)

This Honeyeater belong to the Meliphagidae – Honeyeaters Family, which has 184 species. Check out Ian’s photos of this Family.

In addition to what Ian mentioned about the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Wikipedia had this to say:

The honeyeater is mainly frugivorous, but will also eat nectar, blossoms, insects, reptiles, and young birds. Its habitat includes deserts, coastal scrubland, and dry woodlands. It is also found in mangroves and orchards. Its range includes most of Australia except for Tasmania, tropical Northern areas, the Southeastern coast.

The Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater is a grey-brown bird with a burnt orange throat and chest. It has grey wings edged with white, and a long tail with white tips. It has a pink, black-tipped bill.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis) ©WikiC

Here is the song of a Spiny-cheeked from xeno-canto.

See:

Birds of the Bible – Gleaning’s Noah and the Birds

August 19, 2013 by Lee

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) by Quy Tran

And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. (Gen 6:19 NKJV)

After computer problems last week, we are back up and running. I reloaded my e-Sword on to a new SSD drive and decided to see how fast the searches would be. Zip! Searching for the word “bird” in the Reference Library, I came across these interesting thoughts from “Gleanings In Genesis” by Arthur W. Pink

Noah, as a Type of Christ, is being discussed in this section and the reference to caring for the birds and animals of course caught my “birdwatching eye.”

From Gleanings in Genesis, Chapter 12, Noah A Type of Christ (excerpt):

“9. The successful issue of Noah’s work, seen in “the saving of his house” (Hebrews_11:7) reminds us of the language of Hebrews_3:6, “But Christ as a son over his own house” (Hebrews_3:6). But the type goes further: Noah’s work brings blessing to all creation as is seen from the fact that the animals and birds were also preserved in the ark. Observe how beautifully this is brought out in Genesis_8:1 —”And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark.” So, too, the work of Christ shall yet bring blessing to the beasts of the field. At His return to the earth “the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans_8:21).

Spotted Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus dryas) ©WikiC

10. In Genesis_6:19 we have a hint of the animal creation being subject to Noah “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee.” We have a passing glimpse of the yet future fulfillment of this part of the type in Mark_1:13 —”And He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts.” Noah’s headship over all creatures comes out even more clearly in Genesis_9:2 —”And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.” How this reminds us of Psalm 8, which speaks of the future dominion of the Son of Man. “For Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honor. For thou madest Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under His feet (compare Hebrews_2:8), “But now we see not yet all things put under Him, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea!” This same thought is repeated in the Genesis narrative again and again as if with deliberate emphasis. When we read of the animals entering the Ark we are told “They went in unto Noah (not unto Noah and his family) into the Ark,” and then we are told “And the Lord shut him (not ‘them’) in” (Genesis_7:15-16). And again, on leaving the ark we read that God said unto Noah, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things” (Genesis_9:3). So Christ is “the Heir of all things” (Hebrews_1:2).

Interesting House Finch at feeder

11. In Gen_6:21 we find Noah presented as the great food-provider: “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.” We need hardly say that this finds its complement in Christ the Bread of Life. He is God’s Manna for our souls. He is the Shewbread which was eaten by Aaron and his sons (Leviticus_24:9). He is the Old Corn of the land (Joshua_5:11). In short, it is only as we feed upon Christ as He is presented unto us in the written Word that our spiritual life is quickened and nourished.

He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number. (Job 9:10 NKJV)

We have a wonderful Creator, Sustainer and Saviour in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the use of “Types,” like Noah, and illustrations with birds and other objects, it helps us better understand many things that are beyond our grasp or understanding at times.

(Spelling of Books and bolding are mine.)

See:

Birds of the Bible

Gospel Presentation

Flight: The Genius of Birds Film

August 17, 2013 by Lee

(Gen 1:21) 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.

I have just had the privilege of “screening” the “FLIGHT: The Genius of Birds” film. After being contacted by its director, Lad, I accepted the offer to watch this amazing film all about the bird’s intelligently designed ability to fly. It is FANTASTIC!

Illustra Media produced this film and I am including their Trailer and three segments; the Embryonic Development, the Skeletal system, and the Hummingbird tongue.

Enjoy watching these. And this is only a part of a tremendously amazing film!

Flight: The Genius of Birds – Official Trailer

Embryonic Development

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) chick-egg nest ©USFWS

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. (Gen 2:19)

Skeletal system

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) by AestheticPhotos

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Psa 40:5 KJV)

This clip tells about the skeletal makeup of the birds. They do a super job showing with their photography and illustrations. It helped me better understand how the bird’s bones and structure work together to enable birds to fly.
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Hummingbird tongue

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (Amazilia tzacatl) by Judd Patterson

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. (Psa 139:6 KJV)

I never imagined this is how they get the nectar. Wow!

I do not sell things here on the blog. My goal is to help promote this very informative video about how an Intelligent designer is behind all of the ingenious aspects of birds and their Flight. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ is that “intelligent designer’ and that He deserves all the credit.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (Joh 1:1-3)

Taken from YouTube – TO ORDER DVDs: www.illustramedia.com / FLIGHT: THE GENIUS OF BIRDS is the first episode in Illustra Media’s new series THE DESIGN OF LIFE. This remarkable documentary explores the evidence for intelligent design as revealed through the biological systems and mechanisms that make avian flight possible. Photographed in North America, England, Peru, Greenland, and Antarctica FLIGHT celebrates birds and the miracle of life in the skies.
The DVD is available for purchase now – visit www.illustramedia.com for more information.

Wordless Birds

Birds Of The Bible – Clinging Birds

August 11, 2013 by Lee

Pileated Woodpecker at Circle B by Lee

But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. (Joshua 23:8 NASB)

While finishing the last two chapters of Joshua, I came across the verse above. I immediately pictured a Woodpecker “clinging” to a tree. Then the following picture also came to mind. What can we learn about our “clinging birds” and us “clinging to the Lord”?

Brown-headed Barbet (Megalaima zeylanica) by Nikhil Devasar

Woodpeckers were created with an ability to cling to trees with the help of the way the toes are arranged on their feet. They also use their stiffened tail feathers to keep them on the tree.”Woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks all possess zygodactyl feet. Zygodactyl feet consist of four toes, the first (hallux) and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees. Members of this family can walk vertically up a tree trunk, which is beneficial for activities such as foraging for food or nest excavation. In addition to the strong claws and feet, woodpeckers have short strong legs. This is typical of birds that regularly forage on trunks. The tails of all woodpeckers except the piculets and wrynecks are stiffened, and when the bird perches on vertical surfaces, the tail and feet work together to support it.” (Wikipedia)

Bird Feet ©WikiC

The following video from explorationfilm has information about the feet and tail of Woodpeckers at the beginning. The rest of the video is very interesting also.

Other birds also, like the Barbets can do some clinging also. “Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half.

In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, although the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in being able to digest beeswax (although insects make up the bulk of their diet). Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. An exception are a few species of three-toed woodpeckers. The jacamars aside, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. They range in size from the Rufous Piculet at 8 centimetres in length, and weighing 7 grams, to the Toco Toucan, at 63 centimetres long, and weighing 680 grams. All nest in cavities and have altricial young.” (Wikipedia)

Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla) ©WikiC

Another group of birds that “cling” are the Tree Creepers. Treecreepers measure from 12 to 18 centimetres in length. Their bills are gently down-curved and rather long, used for probing bark for insects and spiders. They often climb up tree trunks in a helical path, hopping with their feet together; their toes are long and tipped with strongly curved claws for gripping. The longer tails of the Certhia treecreepers are stiffened to use as a prop while climbing, but those of the Spotted Creeper are shorter and not stiffened. Their songs and calls are thin and high-pitched.

Most species of treecreeper occur in the Palearctic and Indomalaya ecozones, from Western Europe to Japan and India. One species occurs in North America from Alaska to Nicaragua and another has a discontinuous distribution in sub-Saharan Africa and India. All species of treecreeper are found in forest and woodland habitats. The more northerly species are partly migratory, and those found in warmer climates are thought to be resident, although information is lacking for many species.

Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) ©WikiC

One more well-known bird that clings to trees is the Nuthatch. Not only does he cling, but goes up and down the trees head first. Nuthatches are compact birds with short legs, compressed wings, and square 12-feathered tails. They have long, sturdy, pointed bills and strong toes with long claws.

We know birds can cling, how about us? When I searched the KJV on my e-Sword, the word “cling” did not show up in any verses. Switching to the NASB, which I had been reading, “cling” was found in fourteen (14) verses. Here are some of them:

You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. “He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. (Deuteronomy 10:20-21 NASB)

Blond-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens) ©WikiC

You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4 NASB)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) Red-shafted ©WikiC

I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart. (Psalms 119:30-32 NASB)

White-barred Piculet (Picumnus cirratus) ©©LeeKip

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
(Romans 12:9-10 NASB)

These are all great ways we can CLING to the Lord.

The word cling is translated several ways in our original verse:

But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. (Joshua 23:8 NASB)

KJV – But cleave unto the LORD your God
AKJV – But hold to the LORD your God
BBE – But be true to the Lord your God
Bishops – But sticke fast vnto the Lorde your God,
CEV – Be as faithful to the LORD
ERV – You must continue to follow the LORD your God
GW – But you must be loyal to the LORD your God
MSG – Hold tight to GOD, your God
NET – But you must be loyal to the LORD your God

KJV+ – But cleave H1692
H1692
דּבק
dâbaq
daw-bak’
A primitive root; properly to impinge, that is, cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit: – abide, fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take.

They are all good words and may we learn to “cling” to our Lord, just as the birds “cling” to the trees.

“But ask the animals — they will teach you — and the birds in the air — they will tell you; (Job 12:7 CJB)

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalms 34:8 KJV)

Birds In Hymns – My Refuge

August 10, 2013 by Lee

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) w youngby Nikhil Devasar

… In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? (Psalms 11:1 KJV)

Words: Alice B. Wood, 1901.

Music: Ackworth, M. B. Willis

My Refuge

To the rock flies the cony, the stork to her nest,
When tempests are gathering and black is the west;
So swift, by life’s trials o’erwhelmed and oppressed,
I fly to my refuge, Jehovah, my rest!

The nest, whither speedeth the storm beaten bird,
Aloft, on the fir top by tempests is stirred;
But the nest of my refuge no storm wind can smite;
’Tis the breast of Jehovah; I’m safe from afright.

The rock where the cony securely may hide
Is set in the mountain’s cold, pitiless side;
But the rock of my safety, the home of my quest,
’Tis the heart of my Savior: How warm and how blest!

Then blow, thou wild tempest, I fear not thy might,
Tho’ blackly thou lowerest, my prospect is bright;
Jehovah, my Savior, I fly to Thy breast;
Dear rock of my refuge! Dear sheltering nest!

Storks Shadowing Baby in Lakeland by Dan

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. (Psalms 62:7 KJV)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (Psalms 91:1-2 KJV)

Alice Boise Wood (?-1919) was the daughter of Professor James R. Boise, Wood was the first woman to graduate from Chicago University. She went on to teach Greek there, and was known as a poet.

More Birds in Hymns

See ~ Wordless Birds

Bible Birds – Hawk Migration

August 9, 2013 by Lee

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) ©USFWS

Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? (Job 39:26 ESV)

Job was being asked by the Lord if he knew how and why the Hawk knows that it needs to go south for the winter. The Lord is smarter than we are and when He created the birds, He gave them instincts (knowledge) to do certain tasks. He put within the Hawks and other birds that migrate (travel to other areas) the knowledge of when and where to go.

Why do they migrate? There are various reasons why they travel, many great distances, for the winter or summer. The weather turns cold in the northern part of the world (northern hemisphere) in the winter and many birds cannot survive in really cold weather. In the summer, those birds go back north, because it gets cold down where they spent the winter. (The seasons are reversed in the northern and southern hemispheres.) So, some birds just keep going north and south each year so they can live in warm weather.

Other birds move around or migrate because their food supply ends and they go to the next area to be able to feed themselves. The Lord promised the birds and animals to provide for them, but He does not “spoon-feed” them. They have to go where He has provided for them.

And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground–to everything in which there is the breath of life–I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. (Genesis 1:30 AMP)

A tree in Daniel has this promise given about it:

Its leaves were fair and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The living creatures of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches; and all flesh was fed from it. (Daniel 4:12 AMP)

Crane Hawk (Geranospiza caerulescens) ©WikiC

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26 AMP)

Those are very good promises by the Lord, the Creator, that He will provide for them. That last verse also gives you and I the promise that He will also provide for us, because we are worth more. He loves us and has given us much more. See The Wordless Birds.

We will tell more things about the Hawks in other Bible Bird – Hawks articles.

Birds of the Bible – Hawks and Wisdom

August 9, 2013 by Lee

Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) by Daves BirdingPix

Is it by your wisdom [Job] that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south [as winter approaches]? (Job 39:26 AMP)

In the Birds of the Bible – Hawk Migration, written in 2008, this verse was introduced. Job was being addressed and the questions started coming:

THEN THE Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? [Job 35:16.] Gird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me. (Job 38:1-3 AMP)

Questions of Where…?; Who…?; When…?; Have you commanded…, explored…, entered…?; Can you …?; Do you…? etc. These question run all through Job 38 and 39. That is where we find our question about the hawk.

Commentary Quotes on Job 39:26 (From my e-Sword)

Barnes – “Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom – The appeal here is to the hawk, because it is among the most rapid of the birds in its flight. The particuIar thing specified is its flying, and it is supposed that there was something special in that which distinguished it from other birds. Whether it was in regard to its speed, to its manner of flying, or to its habits of flying at periodical seasons, may indeed be made a matter of inquiry, but it is clear that the particular thing in this bird which was adapted to draw the attention, and which evinced especially the wisdom of God, was connected with its flight. The word here rendered “hawk,” (נץ nêts) is probably generic, and includes the various species of the falcon or hawk tribe, as the jet-falcon, the goshawk, the sparrow, hawk, the lanner, the saker, the hobby, the kestril, and the merlin. Not less than one hundred and fifty species of the hawk, it is said, have been described, but of these many are little known, and many of them differ from others only by very slight distinctions.

They are birds of prey, and, as many of them are endowed with remarkable docility, they are trained for the diversions of falconry – which has been quite a science among sportsmen. The falcon, or hawk, is often distinguished for fleetness. One, belonging to a Duke of Cleves, flew out of Westphalia into Prussia in one day; and in the county of Norfolk (England) one was known to make a flight of nearly thirty miles in an hour. A falcon which belonged to Henry IV. of France, having escaped from Fontainebleau, was found twenty-four hours after in Malta, the space traversed being not less than one thousand three hundred and fifty miles; being a velocity of about fifty-seven miles an hour, on the supposition that the bird was on the wing the whole time. It is this remarkable velocity which is here appealed to as a proof of the divine wisdom. God asks Job whether he could have formed these birds for their rapid flight. The wisdom and skill which has done this is evidently far above any that is possessed by man.

And stretch her wings toward the south – Referring to the fact that the bird is migratory at certain seasons of the year. It is not here merely the rapidity of its flight which is referred to, but that remarkable instinct which leads the feathered tribes to seek more congenial climates at the approach of winter. In no way is this to be accounted for, except by the fact that God has so appointed it. This great law of the winged tribes is one of the clearest proofs of divine wisdom and agency.”

Grey Goshawk ( novaehollandiae) by Ian

Pulpit Commentary – ” Doth the hawk fly (or, soar) by thy wisdom? The hawk”s strength of wing is extraordinary, and one of the greatest of natural marvels. Can Job claim to have contrived it? Many as have been the attempts made, human ingenuity has not yet devised anything that can fly. And stretch her wings toward the south? Migrate, i.e. , when winter approaches, to the warmer southern regions. Few things in nature are more remarkable than the instinct of migratory birds.

Red Sholdered Hawk by Ray

Matthew Henry – “All these beautiful references to the works of nature, should teach us a right view of the riches of the wisdom of Him who made and sustains all things. The want of right views concerning the wisdom of God, which is ever present in all things, led Job to think and speak unworthily of Providence.

Harris’s Hawk at National Aviary by Lee

Wesley – Fly – So strongly, constantly, unweariedly, and swiftly. South – At the approach of winter, when wild hawks fly into warmer countries, as being impatient of cold. The birds of the air are proofs of the wonderful providence of God, as well as the beasts of the earth. God instances in two stately ones.

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Brevard Zoo by Lee

Lange – “… If even the book of nature transcends our ability to decipher it fully, how much more incomprehensible and mysterious will the book of Holy Scripture be for us.—von Gerlach: The fundamental thought of these representations which God here puts forth is that only He who can create and govern all things, who superintends everything and adjusts all things in their relation to each other, can also comprehend the connection of human destinies. Inasmuch however as feeble short-sighted man cannot understand and fathom the created things which are daily surrounding him, how can he assume to himself any part of God’s agency in administering the universe?”

Red-tailed Hawk by Ray

Believers Bible Commentary – “39:26-30 Did Job give wisdom to the hawk to migrate south? And was he the one who taught the eagle to fly, to nest on the high rocky crag, to spy out carrion from a great distance, and to train its young ones to find their food?”

Red-backed Hawk – Argentina

Biblical Illustrator – “The higher teaching of Nature The intent of all these beautiful references to the works of Nature is to teach us, from the wisdom, skill, and curious designs discoverable in the formation and the instincts of various birds and beasts, to impress ourselves with a worthy notion of the “riches of the wisdom” of Him that made and sustaineth all things. These impressions we are to carry with us when we consider the dealings of God in the way of Providence, and in His ordering of all events, as the great Governor of the universe. Can we suppose that there is anything wrong here, or without the design of the most consummate wisdom, when He has put forth so much of His skill and contrivance in the formation and ordering of these inferior animals? May He not be trusted to do all things well, concerning the destiny of man, the greatest of His works? In this higher economy, are we to suppose there is less wisdom and design to be manifested, than in this, which displays itself so visibly in these inferior works of His hand? Thus would our blessed Lord increase the confidence of His disciples in His providential care of them, by observing, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and not one of them falleth to the ground without your Father?” “Fear not,” “are ye not much better than they?—of more value than many sparrows.” It was the want of such due impressions concerning the designing wisdom of God, ever present, and ever operating in all things, that had led Job to think and speak unworthily of that dispensation of Providence under which he now lived, as being altogether arbitrary, discovering no design and discriminating wisdom, nor manifesting the righteous Governor of all things….”

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5 KJV)

My the Lord continue his blessings as we observe His Wisdom through the birdwatching of His Hawks.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Southern Giant-Petrel

August 7, 2013 by Ian