Master Builder’s Master Builders…
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) Nest w/eggs by Nikhil Devasar
Birds are capable of grand engineering feats.
But are they engineers?
Not in the way you might think.
Just as birds know how to fly,
they know how to build a nest without instructions
or apprenticeship. It’s a matter of instinct.
Birds craft their nests without consciously thinking about it.
How then did some species of birds develop
such well-engineered, elaborate nests?
Horned Larks nests showed a significant northern bias
In orientation angle and were 49% shaded in the early afternoon,
the hottest part of the day.
A northern nest orientation ensures maximal shading
By the grass tuft to the south,
May protect nests from cool evening winds,
And provides increased daytime ventilation of the nest
through exposure to prevailing winds.
In addition, shade may also help conceal nests from predators.
From where did these birds learn to choose the location to build their nests?
Have we ever thought about the direction in which we need to have
the front door of our house?
Is our choice based on location or direction of the house?
When JESUS becomes our direction, HE gives the best location..
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
Pectoral Sandpipers nest on the arctic tundra, often near water. The nest is lined with grass, moss and lichens.
They do not use lining materials according to local availability.
Instead, relative use was correlated with a material’s insulative quality when wet and they therefore use lining materials
appropriate to minimizing heat loss
given their damp breeding environment.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3)
Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) by Robert Scanlon
Female Blue Tits gather lavender, yarrow, curry, mint
and other scented plants for their nests shortly after laying eggs,
and continue to do so until the chicks leave home.
They are real botanists and do a great job exploiting their environment to protect their chicks..
The birds make a pot-pourri of 10 aromatic plants from the 250 species in their habitat.
Many of the chemicals in these plants ward off bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and insects.
Our nest is covered by the blood of JESUS and no harm shall enter…
And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)
Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild) by Daves BirdingPix
Common Waxbills are small African finches
select carnivore scat as a material to include in, on,
and around their nests to reduce predation risk…
A South American Ovenbird may take months
to fashion one nest from clay or mud mixed
with bits of straw, hair, and fibers.
The tropical sun bakes the walls brick-hard.
Bald Eagles, which use sticks, some two inches thick
and several feet long,
to make nests sturdy enough to support a human adult.
Chimney Swift using saliva as glue to help support its nest.
Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) nests by Bob-Nan
Baya Weaver nests in colonies of up to 20-30 pairs, usually in trees near freshwater and open ground. Their nests hang from a branch and look like an upside-down flask. A long tube leads to a side entrance, making it difficult even for snakes to enter the nest.
Nests are made entirely out of strips of grass that the birds collect by cutting
a notch in some tall grass, then stripping off a 30-60 cm long piece. A newly-made nest is green with fresh grass and turns brown as the grass dries. A bird may make up to 500 trips to complete a nest.
GOD has given us a home and a family with a purpose….
Most of us are trying hard to be like others and to live like others…
HE loves us as we are, so, let us live the way HE wants us to live…
Sparrows never try to live like Eagles. Do they?
If we are a sparrow, so be it and if we are an Eagle, so be it..
After all, a sparrow cannot live like Eagle and an Eagle cannot live like a Sparrow…
I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. (Isaiah 13:12)
Bird nests vary from a simple accumulation of materials on the ground
to elaborate refuges in or on secluded & elevated substrates.
Nest construction and placement are correlated with flight ability.
Some birds create a simple depression in the ground to harbor their incubating eggs.
The progression of nest complexity moves from cryptic ground nests
to simple elevated nests..
Birds which constructs elevated nests in a bush or tree
or on a cliff or rock ledge tend to be better fliers than simple ground nesters.
You maybe wondering why GOD has placed you as a ground nester
while you desire to be an elevated nester…
You may be wondering why you have not got a place you feel that you deserve…
May be GOD feels that you would get hurt if you are an elevated nester..
Or maybe HE feels that you are not best equipped to be in a higher place…
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1Peter 5:6)
GOD had HIS nest in heaven and because HE loved us so much,
HE stirred up HIS nest and wandered without a nest to be crucified for our sins…
So that HE may nest in us…
HE needs a nest, that is why HE is knocking at the door of your heart….
Do you have a place for HIM to nest?
Please note that HE is building an eternal nest for us live with HIM forever and ever.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Your’s in YESHUA,
A. J. Mithra
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