Snowy Egret in Breeding Plumage at Gatorland by Dan
Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. (Genesis 8:17 NKJV)
In yesterday’s blog, I told about the alligators at Gatorland. Today, we continue with the Snowy Egrets which are there in the rookery. The “rookery” or a place where lots of birds gather to build nest, court, mate and raise their young at Gatorland is protected by the gators. Birds like to find small islands or areas that are protected from animals or snakes that eat the young. When the rookery is surrounded by gators, they have much protection. The alligators get their “pay” by catching the young that accidentally fall from the nest. It is not perfect for the birds, but it does allow them to raise most of their young.
Snowy Egret – Noticd the Red when breeding by Lee
All the birds in the nesting area are wild birds and not captives. They are free to come and go as they please. Right now, they please to be there to raise their young. This is prime time breeding season at Gatorland.
Even Feet Get Reddish Tint – Snowy Egret at Gatorland by Lee
Here are some of the photos of the Snowy Egrets from yesterday. The top one was a great catch by Dan. Isn’t the Lord amazing in how He created these birds. Their feathers are so beautiful and it is neat how some of their parts change color.
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:24 NKJV)
Today we drove over to Gatorland in Orlando. We had heard that the “rookery” was hopping with birds making nest, courting, mating, and raising babies.Spring is in the air.
We were not disappointed. We were over there last year, Vol 2, #6 – The American Flamingo, and I showed some of the Flamingos. They are still there, plus lots of Gators. We saw one crocodile also. What was so neat about thsi trip was the “rookery” which I will share later. With over 500 photos to sort through, I decided to show some of the gators and a really neat video I made of some acting like taxis.
Gatorland has been there for many years and as a bird lover, it is a super place to visit. In fact, I went to Gatorland as a kid with my mother almost 60 years ago. Needless to say, it has changed over the years, but they still have lots of gators.
Jumperoo Show – Dan caught this one taking the chicken
They have shows like the Jumparoo where they get the gators to jump up to get some chicken (dead of course). It is an interesting place to visit and reasonably priced.
Here are some of the photos from today of alligators.
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I couldn’t believe these Great Egrets that were using the Alligators as a Taxi. They were even chasing one another off so they could catch a ride.
Gators at Gatorland – Great Egrets catching a ride
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Here are some videos I made of them catching a “Taxi”
Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7 NASB)
Sunday Inspiration – Thrushes
This week we get to see the Lord’s creation in the Turdidae – Thrushes Family. The Muscicapidae Family also has the Palm & Rock Thrushes. It is easy to see the characteristic similarity of these birds, even though they have differences in color, even in their feet and beaks.
Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) by Lee at Wings of Asia
Today while doing my daily reading , I came across two verses that caused me to think about the varieties of birds and our talents.
Nuggets Plus
And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command. (1 Chronicles 28:20-21 NKJV)
Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) by Judd Patterson
David was handing over the kingdom to Solomon, his son, who was young. David had wanted to build a temple for The LORD, but was told no, but that Solomon would be the one to build the temple.
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) at Bok Tower By Dan’sPix
David is explaining this to Solomon and the people of Israel. He was encouraging his son and also the people and reminding them of these promises from God:
Be strong
of good courage
do it
not fear
nor be dismayed
LORD God—my God—will be with you
not leave you
nor forsake you,
until you have finished all the work
Then in the next verse (21) he explains the different division (variety) of work to be done:
every willing craftsman
for all manner of workmanship
for every kind of service;
also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.
House Sparrow by Ray
Isn’t it amazing when we see all the variety in the birds the Lord Created? They are all birds, but they vary so much in height, width, color, beaks, feet, behavior, the way and place they build their nest, etc, etc.
Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) by Ian
How about us? We are all different and each have different talents and abilities. Our interest vary. Many of our readers are bloggers, yet each of us do it differently.
Birdwatchers vary in how they view the birds. Some like to view the birds through a camera, binoculars, just their eyes. Some make list of all kinds, some never bother. There really isn’t a right way or wrong way to watch birds, unless you are doing something harmful to the birds.
Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) by Margaret Sloan
In the Christian realm, again, we are all different and there is so much variety in our talents and abilities, yet the Lord gave them to us.
“The salamanders,” said daddy, “are little creatures very much like lizards in looks, except their skin is not scaly as a lizard’s. They have four legs and a tail, and are very nice, kind and gentle.
“Well, these salamanders agreed that they would have a fire department, and the next thing was to arrange for the hose and ladder. Finally it was decided that their salamander cousins should be chosen to run the hose and ladder.
“‘We shall call ourselves the fire and water fire department,’ said one of the fire salamanders. ‘It will be our business to rush in and rescue the animals who are in danger of being burned to death, and it will be your business to help them down to the brook, where we’ll have our hose ready to sprinkle them with good, cool water.’
“But days and days went by, and still no fire broke out.
“‘I know what’s the trouble,’ said another one of the fire salamanders. ‘We have no fire bell; there may have been fires that we knew nothing of; you never can tell.’
“‘Don’t be gloomy,’ said still another fire salamander. ‘We’ll have a fire bell. I know where a kind old cow left her bell from last year. We’ll put it by the stump just at the edge of the brook and all the animals can be told to move it when there is a fire. Then we will all come out and stop the fire.’
“And soon notices were put up all over the woods and around the brook which read:
“‘To the Animals: Attention! In case of fire, ring the cow bell by the brook. The Fire and Water Fire Department of the Salamanders will PUT IT OUT.’
“These notices were read by all the animals, and the very next day the salamanders heard the cow bell.
“‘Where’s the fire?’ they all shouted.
“‘Over there,’ said Grandfather Frog, who was watching the fire department start off.
“They wiggled and crawled as quickly as they could to the spot where the fire was. It was the vireo family’s nest. You know the vireos are those beautiful, shy birds that live in the woods and have such lovely voices. The fire salamanders rushed right into the fire and pulled out of the nest the vireo children just in time before their little feathers got burnt. And, of course, the Mother and Daddy Vireo were able to fly out.
“When they all reached the brook at last, the Mother and Daddy Vireo sang the most wonderful song as a reward to the brave salamander fire department.”
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3:16-17 KJV)
The story doesn’t say which kind of Vireo this was, but Vireos belong to the Vireonidae – Vireos, Greenlets Family. They all have beautiful songs.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song of Solomon 2:12 KJV)
I am testing a new feature that WordPress has just made available for bloggers. We can now “embed” photos from Getty Images into articles. They have a wealth of photos, but unless embedded, can be expensive to use.
Since I chased the Carolina Wren at Myakka River SP all over the place with my camera and never got a photo, I turned on the video and recorded its sound. I have converted it to an MP3 and borrowed some of Getty’s great photos. Here is another of the neat birds that the Lord gave such a pretty song to.
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Carolina Wrens belong to the Troglodytidae – Wrens Family. The Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common species of wren, resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. A distinct population in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Belize and extreme north of Guatemala is treated either as a subspecies Thryothorus ludovicianus albinucha, or as a separate species, White-browed Wren (Thryothorus albinucha) . The Carolina Wren is the state bird of South Carolina; its specific name ludovicianus means “from Louisiana”.
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The upperparts are rufous brown, and the underparts a strong orange-buff, usually unmarked but faintly barred on the flanks in the southwest of the range. The head has a striking pure white supercilium (eyebrow) and a whitish throat. The race albinucha is duller brown above and has additional white streaking on the head.
It is easiest to confuse with the Bewick’s Wren, a fairly close relative, which differs in being smaller but with a longer tail, grayer-brown above and whiter below. The Carolina and White-browed Wrens differ from the House Wren in being larger, with a decidedly longer bill and hind toe.
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) by Ian (Not Getty)
The Carolina Wren is noted for its loud song, popularly rendered as “teakettle-teakettle-teakettle”. This song is rather atypical among wrens and closely resembles that of the Kentucky Warbler which shares much of its range. A given bird will typically sing several different songs. Only the male birds sing their loud song. The songs vary regionally, with birds in northern areas singing more slowly than those in southern areas.
The Carolina Wren also has a series of calls, including a rapid series of descending notes in a similar timbre to its song, functioning as an alarm call, and a very harsh and loud scolding call made to threaten intruders. (Wikipedia)
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22-23 NKJV)
Yesterday we rode down to Myakka River State Park, then over to an Amish restuarant in Sarasota and back. A birdwatching adventure of almost 200 miles . What a beautiful the Lord gave to see some more of His Creation.
As Dan drives I keep a list of the birds spotted. Just finished posting them to eBird. Counting the State Park and the different county lists, we saw a total of 43 species today. Not bad.
This was sort of a survey trip to check out the park. We have never been there before. We spotted 23 species there and saw lots of alligators floating in their lake. It was foggy driving down and it was starting to clear some by the time we arrived. At the first little pond the water was quite reflective. Myakka is the largest park in the State system.
Great Blue Heron by Lee Myakka SP
Actually, compared to Circle B Bar Reserve, which is only about 5 miles from the house, it was sparse on birds. Guess we have gotten spoiled having Circle B so close.
But still, it was an enjoyable trip. I was able to get a photo of a Catbird and chased a Northern Parula with my camera all over the place. Finally got a bad shot which at least help nail down the ID. A Carolina Wren was singing away, but never got a decent shot of him either. Also saw 9 Wild Turkeys.
On the ride down, my highlight was spotting 4 Crested Caracaras and 5 Belted Kingfishers. Of course since we were traveling, no photos taken.
Haven’t gone through all photos yet, but here are a few from yesterday.
Hi again boys and girls! It’s me, the Golden Eagle. In case your wondered my nest is in sunny Florida! I think there are close to 400 different species just in this state! Hey, have you started to keep your journal yet? Write done the birds you see, what the birds are doing, what time of day that you see the birds, and anything that might be out of the ordinary! This Bible and bird journey should get very interesting!
And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore. (Genesis 8:10-12 NKJV)
This whole wide earth was at one time, in the past, covered with water! Now that is really not hard to believe. Even today, the earth is covered with water, about 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with the stuff! In our Solar System we are the only WATER PLANET! Every mountain was at one point covered with water. Scientists have even found sea shells on the top of Mt Everest! Your average Scientist thinks that Noah’s flood is just a myth, and that the surface of Mars was shaped by a flood! The truth of the Bible teaches us that the surface of the Earth was shaped by water! The Grand Canyon of the United States was carved out by a lot of water in a little bit of time. Of course the evolutionists say that the Grand Canyon was formed over millions of years by a little bit of water, the Colorado River.
On the wings of a snow white dove! The DOVE is a beautiful bird. It flies ever so gently with the color of a white snowflake. Sometimes even people today liken the Holy Spirit of God to the dove. White in holiness and purity, flying here and there, the Holy Spirit whispers to our minds and to our hearts that JESUS is indeed the Son of God, Heaven is real, the Bible is true, and after death there is something more in God’s wonderful purpose for you and me!
Hey kids! Start reading at least one chapter in the Bible each and every day! And don’t forget to join the ranks of the birders of the world! Until next time, this is the Golden Eagle soaring away into the sunset and my next meal! See Ya!!!
Indian Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) pair by Nikhil Devasar
Sunday Inspiration – Owls
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. (Isaiah 34:14-15 KJV)
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How Great Thou Art by Sean Fielder (from Faith Baptist Church)
It’s open to all who wish to come. So some find it so and make it a habit to always be around every day–the Blue Jays, a pain of Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, Doves and squirrels. In the winter months, Titmouse, Pine Warblers and occasionally Blackbirds add to the mix.
Today started out rather ordinary with Bible reading, breakfast, a few pills, letting Ruby my dog in and out of the house several times and talking myself into going to the bank and grocery.
After lunch Ruby and I went out for her afternoon walk. After this I started pricing things for a garage sale that will be sometime this spring. I just happen ed to look out the patio door and saw a most glorious sight – ROBINS!
Time just stopped for me. I was totally taken in by the sight of them. Where they came from it is obvious they had a great time because they looked really good and healthy. Their feathers looked as smooth and soft as velvet. Hopping, stopping, looking, flicking leaves, talking – oh, what a great time they and I were having – by now I’m just quietly looking out a small back bathroom window where I could get a better view.
What then! It is my daughter asking on behalf of her daughter how Ruby is doing. So I gave a quick report and then excitedly told her about the Robins. Soon as I could I hung up and got back to the little window only to hear two gunshots in the neighborhood.
But why now! I’ve heard this a few days in the past week, but am real unhappy about it now!
Of course the Robins flew off. Well they and I had great joy for a short time until someone spoiled the picnic!
Is this not the way some things are in our lives? But what joy there will be in the future when we will have a forever picnic in the presence of the Lord. There will be a new heaven and new earth that will not be spoiled by anyone or anything. It will be awesome and I suspect it will include birds along with many awesome creatures and all of God’s redeemed!
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:5 KJV)
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:11-13 KJV)
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American Robin (Turdus migratorius) by Dan at Bok Sanctuary
Text: Be Strong in the Lord
Author: Linda Lee Johnson
Tune: FETTKE
Composer: Tom Fettke
Be strong in the Lord
Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty Defender is always the same. Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;
Vict’ry is sure when you call on His name.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.
So put on the armour the Lord has provided;
And place your defense in His unfailing care.
Trust Him, for He will be with you in battle,
Lighting your path to avoid every snare.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.
Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty commander will vanquish the foe.
Fear not the battle, for the victory is always His;
He will protect you wherever you go.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And be of good courage, for He is your guide. Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord; And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.
the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; (Leviticus 11:17-18 NKJV)
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 NKJV)
Here is a very interesting article about the Snowy Owls being spotted so much this winter. It is from the Focusing On Wildlife blog.
For the lowly Arctic lemming, life is cruel. In a flash before death, often the last things a lemming sees are the deadly talons of a majestic snowy owl. A mass sacrifice of this rodent with stubby legs probably gave rise to what scientists are calling the largest snowy-owl irruption in at least half a century. The gleaming white birds poured out of Canada this winter to points throughout the eastern US, captivating birdwatchers, scientists and people who had never seen them up close.
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 