I glanced out our back door and saw two Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks just a few feet from the patio. I was so busy enjoying watching them, that I forgot to pick up my camera, which was right near me. By the time my brain kicked in and I got the lens cap off, they were heading back to the water.
The three photos are not good, but they at least “prove” they were here. :o)
Whistling Ducks in Backyard Feb 2021
Heading toward the water:
Whistling Ducks in backyard – Feb 21, 2021
We have seen Whistling Ducks landing on the other strip of water, but they don’t land on our water often. In fact, this winter has provided less avian wonders than last year. In Lack of Birds to Watch I mentioned them chopping down the forest right here by us. Well, it is completely gone, and they are just about ready to start building the 93 new home there. The streets are laid out, sewers in, etc. I am happy with any birds that stop by this year.
Here are a few facts about Black-bellied Whistling-ducks:
“In the family of waterfowl, the tropical whistling-ducks rank midway between geese and dabbling ducks. They are gooselike in appearance, with long necks and long legs; they graze grainfields, usually feeding at night. However their high-pitched whistling calls are typical of neither goose nor duck; and in flight, with necks and legs extended, they suggest a flock of ibises. Nesting colonies of the black-bellied whistling-duck occur in Texas, often around livestock water areas. When feeding in cornfields, they perch on mature stalks to glean the ears.” (Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Terres ,p214)
I find it interesting, that the Creator created these with just their own niche to fill. We each have just a niche to fill that the Lord has gifted us to do. Whistling is mentioned three times in the Bible. One in particular is when the Lord whistles for the dispersed Jews to return to their land.
“I will whistlefor them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall increase as they once increased.” (Zechariah 10:8 NKJV)
There was a flock that landed back in March of last year:
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks by Lee 3-15-20
Now for a couple of really good photos by Dan. He went to Circle B Reserve, a few days earlier. He went early morning for just an hour. He caught a beautiful Female Cardinal and a Warbler, that I think is a Myrtle or the old Butter Butt kind. They split them up, and I am not sure what this bird is. So, leave a comment if you know.
Female Northern Cardinal at Circle B Reserve by Dan
“To be named” Warbler at Circle B Reserve by Dan
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” (Psalms 91:14 KJV
“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.”(Jeremiah 16:21 NASB)
Self-isolation blues, financial troubles, loved ones fallen ill, fear of contracting coronavirus… these weights are burdening many. On top of that, we may be unable to congregate in our churches or visit our favorite birding spots. Although a pale substitute for both, I pray you are uplifted by this short series of Words and Birds of Encouragement. For what can be more encouraging than the birds of this world and words of the world to come! William
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7
We are called to make it through the days of trial and adversity. But we aren’t supposed to just grit our teeth and endure, coming out the other side angrier than we went in, like Godzilla breaking from the rubble of a building collapsed upon him. Instead, we are to be overcomers; we are to pass through trial and adversity with our testimony intact!
And to the overcomer there is a reward: like the Yellow-rumped Warblers that eat the late winter fruits of the holly and Wax Myrtle, we will dine upon the fruit of the tree of life in the paradise of God! This virus quarantine will end in a harvest of souls into the church as the doors re-open. So keep your chin up, overcomer, greater days approach… in this world and the next!
Hi, I’m wildlife photographer and nature writer William Wise. I was saved under a campus ministry while studying wildlife biology at the University of Georgia. My love of the outdoors quickly turned into a love for the Creator and His works. I’m currently an animal shelter director and live in Athens, Georgia with my wife and two teenage daughters, who are all also actively involved in ministry. Creation Speaks is my teaching ministry that glorifies our Creator and teaches the truth of creation. William Wise Nature Notes is my wildlife and birding photo blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. — “What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.” Psalms 104, The Message.
Self-isolation blues, financial troubles, loved ones fallen ill, fear of contracting coronavirus… these weights are burdening many. On top of that, we may be unable to congregate in our churches or visit our favorite birding spots. Although a pale substitute for both, I pray you are uplifted by this short series of Words and Birds of Encouragement. For what can be more encouraging than the birds of this world and words of the world to come! William
“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Luke 23:43
What will paradise be like? Let your imagination roll… sunsets without haze and smog; rivers and lakes without floating trash; streets filled with smiling people free of anger and worry; and clear, wide blue skies filled with the flight of birds… and no window strikes! And even better, we will walk in the cool of the garden with our Lord and Savior whose blood re-opens the door to Eden. It will be paradise for all! It may not be today (but then again, it may!). Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Hi, I’m wildlife photographer and nature writer William Wise. I was saved under a campus ministry while studying wildlife biology at the University of Georgia. My love of the outdoors quickly turned into a love for the Creator and His works. I’m currently an animal shelter director and live in Athens, Georgia with my wife and two teenage daughters, who are all also actively involved in ministry. Creation Speaks is my teaching ministry that glorifies our Creator and teaches the truth of creation. William Wise Nature Notes is my wildlife and birding photo blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. — “What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.” Psalms 104, The Message.
“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:3)
Myles Willard is an avid bird watcher, award-winning nature photographer and long-time friend of Creation Moments. Myles has given us hundreds of breathtaking nature photos, one of which accompanies the printed transcript of today’s program at the Creation Moments website.
The reason I’m telling you about him today is because of an unexpected discovery he made while looking out the window of his home in Michigan. Each fall he meticulously tracks and logs the number of migrating warblers that stop by for a rest in the big cedar tree in his yard. After tracking the activity of over 1,500 warblers for 18 years, he was surprised to see a statistically significant dip in the number of birds stopping by that occurred on every seventh day!
Did these migrating birds have a built-in instinct that somehow made them follow the biblical principle of a Sabbath rest? We are not saying, of course, that the warblers were knowingly obeying God’s fourth commandment. However, if God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh, why would it be hard to believe that God gave these birds a cycle of six days of work followed by a seventh day of rest?
According to the account given in the book Inspired Evidence: Only One Designer, “It would seem that Myles Willard, science teacher, nature photographer and bird watcher, has found and documented such a pattern.”
Prayer:
Oh Lord, thank You for doing all the work necessary for our salvation so we can rest securely in the knowledge that – by grace through faith – we can have eternal life! Amen.
Notes:
Myles Willard, The Rest Is History, monograph, 2008. Cited in Inspired Evidence: Only One Reality by Julie Von Vett and Bruce Malone, April 29 (Search for the Truth Publications, 2012). Photo: One of Myles Willard’s superb photos. Used with permission.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) Sleeping at Circle B by Lee
Huh? Maybe this Great Blue Heron was off on his schedule. It was not taken on a Sunday, as we don’t go birdwatching on Sundays. We rest on Sunday and attend church, so, why wouldn’t the birds rest also? This article is very interesting. I am sure “evolutionists” would discount it, but those records that Myles kept, are worth considering, and I doubt he just made these statistics up.
Prothonotary Yellow Warblers Birds by Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897
Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited
Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5
*
PROTHONOTARY YELLOW WARBLERS.
Quite a long name for such small birds—don’t you think so? You will have to get your teacher to repeat it several times, I fear, before you learn it.
These little yellow warblers are just as happy as the pair of wrens I showed you in April “Birds.” In fact, I suspect they are even happier, for their nest has been made and the eggs laid. What do you think of their house? Sometimes they find an old hole in a stump, one that a woodpecker has left, perhaps, and there build a nest. This year they have found a very pretty place to begin their housekeeping. What kind of tree is it? I thought I would show only the part of the tree that makes their home. I just believe some boy or girl who loves birds made those holes for them. Don’t you think so? They have an upstairs and a down stairs, it seems.
Like the Wrens I wrote about last month, they prefer to live in swampy land and along rivers. They nearly always find a hole in a decayed willow tree for their nest—low down. This isn’t a willow tree, though.
Whenever I show you a pair of birds, always pick out the father and the mother bird. You will usually find that one has more color than the other. Which one is it? Maybe you know why this is. If you don’t I am sure your teacher can tell you. Don’t you remember in the Bobolink family how differently Mr. and Mrs. Bobolink were dressed?
I think most of you will agree with me when I say this is one of the prettiest pictures you ever saw.
HE Golden Swamp Warbler is one of the very handsomest of American birds, being noted for the pureness and mellowness of its plumage. Baird notes that the habits of this beautiful and interesting warbler were formerly little known, its geographical distribution being somewhat irregular and over a narrow range. It is found in the West Indies and Central America as a migrant, and in the southern region of the United States. Further west the range widens, and it appears as far north as Kansas, Central Illinois, and Missouri.
Its favorite resorts are creeks and lagoons overshadowed by large trees, as well as the borders of sheets of water and the interiors of forests. It returns early in March to the Southern states, but to Kentucky not before the last of April, leaving in October. A single brood only is raised in a season.
A very pretty nest is sometimes built within a Woodpecker’s hole in a stump of a tree, not more than three feet high. Where this occurs the nest is not shaped round, but is made to conform to the irregular cavity of the stump. This cavity is deepest at one end, and the nest is closely packed with dried leaves, broken bits of grasses, stems, mosses, decayed wood, and other material, the upper part interwoven with fine roots, varying in size, but all strong, wiry, and slender, and lined with hair.
Other nests have been discovered which were circular in shape. In one instance the nest was built in a brace hole in a mill, where the birds could be watched closely as they carried in the materials. They were not alarmed by the presence of the observer but seemed quite tame.
So far from being noisy and vociferous, Mr. Ridgway describes it as one of the most silent of all the warblers, while Mr. W. Brewster maintains that in restlessness few birds equal this species. Not a nook or corner of his domain but is repeatedly visited during the day. “Now he sings a few times from the top of some tall willow that leans out over the stream, sitting motionless among the marsh foliage, fully aware, perhaps, of the protection afforded by his harmonizing tints. The next moment he descends to the cool shadows beneath, where dark, coffee-colored waters, the overflow of a pond or river, stretch back among the trees. Here he loves to hop about the floating drift-wood, wet by the lapping of pulsating wavelets, now following up some long, inclining, half submerged log, peeping into every crevice and occasionally dragging forth from its concealment a spider or small beetle, turning alternately its bright yellow breast and olive back towards the light; now jetting his beautiful tail, or quivering his wings tremulously, he darts off into some thicket in response to a call from his mate; or, flying to a neighboring tree trunk, clings for a moment against the mossy hole to pipe his little strain, or look up the exact whereabouts of some suspected insect prize.”
By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:12 NKJV)
Another one of the Lord’s neat little birds, the Prothonotary Warbler is a member of the Parulidae Family. The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria. This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the “protonotarii”, who wore golden robes. It was once known as the Golden Swamp Warbler.
The Prothonotary Warbler is 5.1 in/13 cm long and weighs 0.44 oz/12.5 g. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head; females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern that is white at the base and dark at the tip.
The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the Prothonotary Warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for Insects and snails. There are only two Warblers that make nest in tree cavities, this one and the Lucy’s Warbler. They like to use abandoned Woodpecker holes in or near water. They usually lay 3-7 eggs and only one clutch per year.
The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. The call is a loud, dry chip, like that of a Hooded Warbler. Its flight call is a loud seeep.
The above article is the first article in the monthly serial that was started in January 1897 “designed to promote Knowledge of Bird-Live.” These include Color Photography, as they call them, today they are drawings. There are at least three Volumes that have been digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Ian’s Bird of the Week – Wilson’s Warbler ~ by Ian Montgomery
Newsletter – 09-21-10
Here is the attractive Wlson’s Warbler one of the New World Wood-Warblers (family Parulidae) that is quite common in Canada and the western United States. We encountered this one at Point Reyes, an pleasant coastal area and good birding spot just north of San Francisco. With a length of only 12cm/4.75in, the specific name pusilla (small) given to it by Alexander Wilson in 1811 is appropriate.
The Wood-Warblers, so named to distinguish them from the unrelated Old World Warblers, are justifiably popular with American birders, particular during the spring and fall migrations. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colours, with over 50 species (out of a family total of near 120) occurring in North America. Most species spend the winter in Central and South America, a few in the warmer southern states such as California and Florida and during the migration, many birders are on the lookout for Warblers occurring outside their breeding range.
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) by Ian
Alexander Wilson moved from Scotland to Pennsylvania in 1794 at the age of 28, became interested in ornithology in 1801 and decided in 1802 to publish a book illustrating all the North America birds. This appeared as the nine volume American Ornithology between 1808 and 1814, though Wilson died in 1813 and the ninth volume was completed by his friend George Ord. He met John James Audubon in 1810 and probably inspired him to publish his own book of illustrations, even though Audubon’s reaction to Wilson is described as ‘decidedly ambiguous’. (He declined to subscribe to American Ornithology, felt his own illustrations were much better and, in 1820, decided to publish the ‘greatest bird book ever’.) Seven species of birds are name after Wilson, including two on the Australian list, Wilson’s Phalarope and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel.
I have had a report of a list member having trouble accessing the Birdway website. If you have encountered any such difficulties recently, I’d like to hear from you. Recent additions to the website include:
Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au
Lee’s Addition:
Another winner for Ian. What a pretty little warbler. I like that black cap it is wearing. As he said, they are in the Parulidae Family. You can see his photos of the Parulidaes and then check out the whole family here at the Parulidae Family. There are 120 members in the family at this time.
By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:12 NKJV)
Named for the male’s unique blue color, the cerulean warbler is a small, migratory bird that weighs about 0.3 oz. During migration, cerulean warblers pass through the southern United States, flying across the Gulf of Mexico to the highlands of Central America and on to South America….
They winter in broad-leaved evergreen forests within a narrow band of middle elevations (1,600 to 6,000 ft.) in the Andes Mountains of northern South America from Columbia to Peru and Venezuela….
Recent findings show that the birds begin their spring migration to the breeding grounds by flying approximately 1,000 miles over the Caribbean Sea to reach Nicaragua and Belize.
Are you feeling small and insecure?
Just remember, these birds are so small, yet GOD has given them the energy to cross not only over the Caribbean sea but also such long distance…
GOD loves to use small things to do great works…
Like David to bring down goliath, a girl to bring healing to an army commander and a small boy to feed the multitudes…
The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time. (Isaiah 60:22)
Cerulean warblers nest and raise their young in large tracts of deciduous hardwood forest that have tall, large-diameter trees and diverse vertical structure in the forest canopy from early spring to late summer. .
Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) female by Steve Slayton
They prefer uplands, wet bottomlands, moist slopes, and mountains from less than
100 feet to more than 3,500 feet in elevation.
The Cerulean Warbler is a flagship species for conservation due to its attractiveness, high conservation concern and life history. The Cerulean Warbler often inhabits areas that are of global importance for conservation, yet are highly threatened. Therefore, conserving the Cerulean Warbler is not only about a shared migratory species, but also the lives of local peoples who will determine its future.
GOD has trust in us and that’s why HE has chosen us to be the flagship species for the conservation and extension of HIS kingdom…
HE is faithful to finish the good work that HE had started in us, but, are we faithful?
A faithful man shall abound with blessings; …… (Proverbs 28:20)
The female has her own fascinating behavior: with wings tucked, the bird purposefully tumbles off the side of her lofty nest. Although not quite in a freefall, just before she hits the ground—like a bungee jumper on a cord—she stops short. Instead of shooting back skyward, however, her open wings whisk her along the forest floor in search of insects, including bees, caterpillars and wasps.
The copyright holder of the chorus of cheerful trills coming from high in the forest canopy is that of the male, as he only sings. The males are also persistent singers who sing at intervals of one and a half minute to two minutes for nearly and hour each morning. Most of the singing is done in the morning and some good songs can be heard in the afternoon also..
The 0.3 oz Cerulean Warbler sings for one hour each morning. If the same bird is of the size of a human, it would be singing all day long…
I think GOD also expects us to sing all day long and that is the reason HE created us..
Anyway, we have to keep singing day and night non-stop in heaven….
If we don’t sing here on earth, is it possible for us to sing for HIM in heaven?
the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise. (Isaiah 43:21)
The Kirtland’s Warbler requires areas
with small jack pines for nesting.
The jack pine requires fire
to open its cones and spread its seeds.
The warbler first appears in an area
about six years after a fire when the new growth
is dense and is about 1.5 to 2.0 meters (5.0-6.5 feet) high.
After about 15 years,
when the trees are 3.0 to 5.0 meters (10.0 to 16.5 feet) high,
the warbler leaves the area…
These birds seem to know the time of GOD..
How do they know the age of those trees?
Is it because we have not tuned ourselves
to the frequency of GOD AND HIS time?
GOD has called us by our names to reveal
HIS plans in our lives..
But, we don’t seem to understand
the time to sow or the time to reap..
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; (Ecclesiastes 3:2)
Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) by Kent Nickell
The very specific habitat requirements
of this species are the main cause of its threatened status.
Despite nesting on the ground,
Kirtland’s Warbler will only nest amongst
9 – 13 year old jack pines (Pinus banksiana);
taller stands are abandoned for a new site.
Is it because the birds know that
there is going to be another fire very soon?
How amazing our GOD is?
HE has tuned the birds to HIS plans
and that is the reason the birds know,
when to nest among the pines and when to abandon them..
Do we know that we have to abandon this earth?
Do we know that there is going to be an eternal fire very soon?
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
The Hermit Warbler lives in the tops
of some of the tallest trees on the planet…
It is more easily heard than seen while they forage for hidden insects,
or as they pluck berries from a dense grove of evergreen holly trees.
Hermit Warbler (Dendroica occidentalis) by Daves BirdingPix
Here again we have another bird who loves
to dwell among the holly trees like the Azores Bullfinch…
They are heard but not seen, cos, they dwell in high places…
Adam and Eve chose a different hiding place after they sinned..
GOD could hear them but cannot see..
If JESUS comes in search of us, where will he find us?
Where is your hiding place?
Can we boldly proclaim like Psalmist?
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. (Psalm 119:114)
Where have we set our affections?
Do we beseech JESUS who was lifted high for our sins?
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Hermit Warblers are most often found in mature coniferous forests,
from sea level to the mountains.
During breeding season,
they are most common in stands over 30 years old,
and are generally absent from stands under 20 years old.
They are generally found in the interior of large forests,
high in the canopy…
How do they know the age of stands?
From where did they receive this wisdom?
Do you feel that you lack in wisdom?
Here is a secret,
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)
During migration and post-breeding,
Hermit Warblers are commonly found in mixed flocks.
When foraging they hop about the foliage,
moving from the trunk outward to branch tips
and then starting back at the trunk.
They also glean items from the foliage
while hovering, and will fly out to catch aerial prey.
Hermit Warblers can hang upside-down
to glean from the undersides of leaves and twigs.
Their preference for high, dense foliage
makes them difficult to spot,
but they can be heard singing regularly during the breeding season.
Males arrive on the breeding grounds before females.
They establish and defend territories by singing…
These birds know the secret of defense…
Our praise is the greatest defense against any attack
that satan may plan..
GOD loves to dwell among our praises,
and that is why Prophet Nehemiah appointed singers to
guard the walls of the city; you can read that in
the book of Nehemiah chapter 7…
I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10)
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 