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FELLOWSHIP
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But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 KJV)
Bee-eaters From Pinterest
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Tag Archives: Nature
Ian’s Bird of the Week – Northern Lapwing
Ian’s Bird of the Week – Northern Lapwing ~ Ian Montgomery
Newsletter – 3/14/16
I’m wading through all the non-Australian galleries on the website making them ‘mobile-friendly’, and I came across what is for me an iconic species. It brought back memories of when I first saw Northern Lapwings in September 1961 on the way back from summer holidays in Co. Kerry. The Lapwings were gathered in large flocks with Golden Plover on the Curragh in Co. Kildare, a large grassy plain west of Dublin probably better known for its race track. I was very struck by the crests of the Lapwings – they seemed very exotic by Irish standards – and I was motivated to find out what they were.
I was 14 then and already interested in wildlife but birds hadn’t previously attracted my attention until several interesting sightings that year which included, in addition to the Lapwings, a good view of a Common Kingfisher and a mysterious sandpiper on a golf course in Co. Kerry, probably a Common Redshank Anyway, my parents responded to my interest and gave me, when we got home, a copy of the classic Peterson et al. Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. At Christmas 1961, a pair of binoculars came my way, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Northern Lapwings are a characteristic bird of farmland and marshes in Europe, occurring on both arable land and pasture. They breed throughout Britain and Ireland and their numbers are augment in winter by migrants from northern Europe. The bird in the first two photos is a male in breeding plumage. Breeding males have longer crests and more black on the face and throat than females. When I photographed these I was in a hide in Finland at the lek where Ruffs were displaying, but birds of other species came from time to time. The Lapwings were nesting and this young fledgling was wandering around the hide.
In non-breeding plumage, the crests are shorter, the throat is white and there are buffish fringes on the feathers covering the wings (fourth photo). This one is feeding in the estuary of the River Boyne downstream from Drogheda.
I’m making good progress with website. I’ve finished more than 1,100 galleries and have less than 400 to go. I hope to finish them off in a few weeks, and maybe you’ll get the bird of the week more regularly then!
Greetings
Ian
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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:
“And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.” (Lev 11:19 KJV)
Ian, thanks for all your hard work on the website. It can be very time-consuming when working behind the scenes. (I know from experience.) When you finish, we will be here waiting on the great Bird of the Week articles you share with us. Lapwings have become one of my favorite birds to watch at the zoos. Though, I don’t think I have seen the Northern one.
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Lee’s Seven Word Sunday – 3/13/16
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AND WHATEVER THINGS YOU ASK IN PRAYER
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And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22 NKJV)
Bird ready to attack Praying Mantis – from email (I am not sure which is praying and believing the most.)
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Sunday Inspiration – Finches II
Iiwi (Drepanis coccinea) at National Zoo by Lee
Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. (Psalms 65:9 KJV)
Last week, you were introduced to the Finch – Fringillidae Family part I. This week we will continue working our way through the 225 beautiful species of the family. I ended with the Carpodacus genus, because this weeks group has many Hawaiian birds with around fifteen of them now extinct.
The Poo-uli, Kakawahie,Lesser Koa Finch, Greater Koa Finch, Kona Grosbeak, Ou, Lanai Hookbill, Hawaii Mamo, Black Mamo, Ula-ai-hawane, Laysan Honeycreeper, Greater Amakihi, Lesser Akialoa, Oahu Akialoa, Kauai Akialoa, Maui-nui Akialoa, Oahu Nukupuu and Oahu Akepa are all listed as extinct. From that group only the Iiwi (Drepanis coccinea), Akohekohe (Palmeria dolei) and Apapane (Himatione sanguinea) are still living.
Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus virens) ©WikiC
Finches II is only featuring these thirty-nine birds, mainly from Hawaii, with fifteen extinct. Why are they becoming extinct, let’s see if we can find out. Wikipedia has this to say, “Some 20 species (that number includes early extinctions not counted today) of Hawaiian honeycreeper have become extinct in the recent past, and many more in earlier times, between the arrival of the Polynesians who introduced the first rats, chickens, pigs, and dogs, and hunted and converted habitat for agriculture.
Laysan Honeycreeper (Himatione fraithii) ©Drawing WikiC
This whole group is referred to as Hawaiian honeycreepers are small, passerine birds endemic to Hawaiʻi. They are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus Carpodacus. Their great morphological diversity is the result of adaptive radiation in an insular environment. “Adaptive radiation is a rapid phenomenon because the variation is fully observable in many wild populations. Since macroevolutionary hypotheses of simple-to-complex evolutionary progress require vast eons, alterations produced by adaptive radiation occur quickly by comparison.” (by Brian Thomas, M.S. – ICR article)
Hawaii Akepa (Loxops coccineus) ©USFWS
The male Hawaiian honeycreepers are more brightly colored than the females in the Psittirostrini, but in the Hemignathini, they often look very similar. The flowers of the native ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) are favored by a number of nectarivorous honeycreepers. Many species of this subfamily have been noted to have a plumage odor that has been termed the “Drepanidine odor”, and is suspected to have a role in making the bird distasteful to predators. (Wikipedia with editing)
The wide range of bills in this group, from thick, finch-like bills to slender, downcurved bills for probing flowers have arisen through adaptive radiation. (Wikipedia with editing) The Lord graciously allowed these birds with beaks to meet their needs.
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. (Job 9:10 KJV)
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“My Faith Has Found A Resting Place” ~ ©Artisans in Brass (Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs-Album) Used with permission
Artisans in Brass (Website) – Artisans in Brass (Facebook)
Sunday Inspiration – Finches I
Hawaiian honeycreepers – Wikipedia
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The Spider That Thinks It’s A Scuba Diver
“Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.” Genesis 6:20
Most spiders use their silk to make webs to catch prey. But there’s one spider that spins its silk to make a virtually waterproof sack and fills it with air bubbles so it can survive underwater for hours at a time. In fact, the air-filled sack is so efficient, it allows this air-breathing spider to live virtually its whole life a few inches below the water’s surface.
The Spider That Thinks It’s a Scuba Diver
Scientists have known about the diving bell spider for a long time. But a few years ago they discovered that this silken sack is actually able to produce its own air supply. Acting much like a fish’s gills, the finely woven sack draws oxygen from the water while letting nitrogen exit the diving bell.
Evolutionists can’t explain how the spider learned how to scuba dive and produce silk that makes the diving bell virtually waterproof. Oh, they will say what they always say – natural selection and mutations over millions of years. But creationists have no need of such far-fetched explanations.
The Creator showed His fondness for this spider by giving it what it needs to avoid predators above the water while feeding upon underwater creatures. Now, think about how much more our Creator loves each one of us. He gave us the gift of His Son, who lived a sinless life and then died as a spotless sacrifice on our behalf so we would be found holy and blameless in God’s sight through faith in Christ.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing such a great gift that cost You so much! I don’t deserve such a gift, but I humbly accept the love You poured out on me through Jesus Christ. Amen.
>Notes:
“Diving Bell Spider Uses Bubble Like Gills”, Discover News, 6/9/11. Photo: Diving bell spider enjoys its lunch under water within its virtually waterproof silken sack. Photo posted at the Deep Blue Home website. (Fair Use)
©Creation Moments 2016
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Lee’s Six Word Saturday – 3/12/16
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I WILL LIFT UP MINE EYES
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“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” (Psalms 121:1 KJV)
Crested Caracara – Dan’s at Flamingo Gardens
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Lee’s Five Word Friday – 3/11/16
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BETTER THAN SILVER AND GOLD
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A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1 NASB)
Silver-eared Leiothrix (Leiothrix argentauris) by Ian
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Egrets and Heron Catching The Gator Taxis
Great Egret on Alligator at Gatorland 3-8-16 by Lee
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,” (Ephesians 5:15 NASB)
You saw this photo in Lee’s Three Word Wednesday, but now here is a video of these birds catching their “Taxi Rides” there at Gatorland, FL.
In the first part of the video, notice the Great Egret gives the gator a nudge to get moving and the gator raises its head up. I didn’t realize that the Great Blue Heron was standing on that same alligators submerged tail. Talking to one of the workers, she said every once in a while the gators get hungry. Birds are playing a very dangerous game, in my opinion.
Most times these alligators and birds get along fine. People are tossing food to them and so they abide each other. It is amazing how different critters get along. I can only imagine how it must have been when they were first created. There was no desire of the gators to eat the birds. Today, under the curse, it is a totally different situation. That condition shall come again in the future.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (Isaiah 11:6-7 NKJV)
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Lee’s Four Word Thursday – 3/10/16
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THE CATCH OF FISH
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For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; (Luke 5:9 NKJV)
Puffin with Sand Eels
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Lee’s Three Word Wednesday – 3/9/16
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NO OTHER FOUNDATION
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For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV)
Great Egret on Alligator at Gatorland 3-8-16 by Lee
Great Egret on Alligator at Gatorland Close-up 3-8-16
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Lee’s Two Word Tuesday – 3/8/16
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O LORD
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O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalms 8:9 KJV)
Flamingo at Gatorland – 3/8/16 by Lee
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Jesus Helps Me – Book Review
Jesus Helps Me – Cover
I was contacted by Shelton Interactive on behalf of Callie Grant, the founder of Graham Blanchard, asked if I would review a children’s book by the title: Jesus Helps Me. She knew this blog is Christian based and about birds.
Jesus Helps Me is Christian and about birds. This book is another one in their Knowing My God series.
To begin with, the book is made to be handled by young children. The pages are very colorful, the photos of the bird are great. The verses are simple enough that a child can understand them, and are teaching good Biblical Truths.
As you turn the well made pages (thick, that can be handled by a youngster without tearing); they are colorful, have a bird photo and a simple description or information about the bird, and have a verse or partial verse that is spread over several pages. The page color is different each time you turn a page. That is for teaching colors to the young children.
The book is for babies, toddlers and young children. They suggested reading to babies because they thrive “just hearing your voice as you read the Bible passage in this book.” Toddlers can be shown and told about the birds and colors as a learning tool, besides the verses. As the children advance in age, they can be taught more about those verse to increase their knowledge.
Mute Swan
As I was reviewing this book, besides the book teaching the little ones about verses, birds, colors, etc., I had another thought. What a great way to start training “new birdwatchers.” And, from a Christian perspective, no less. :)
Jesus mentioned the “little children” in many verses. In Matthew 18:2-5, Jesus taught this lesson:
“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (Matthew 18:2-5 KJV)”
For more information, you can contact, www.grahamblanchard.com
