Bird and birdsong encounters improve mental health, study finds

Research suggests visits to places with birdlife could be prescribed by doctors to improve mental wellbeing One swallow may not make a summer but seeing or hearing birds does improve mental wellbeing, researchers have found. The study, led by academics from King’s College London, also found that everyday encounters with birds boosted the mood of people with depression, as well as the wider population. The researchers said the findings suggested that visits to places with a wealth of birdlife, such as parks and canals, could be prescribed by doctors to treat mental health conditions. They added that their findings also highlighted the need to better protect the environment and improve biodiversity in urban, suburban and rural areas in order to preserve bird habitats.

Full story here

Sunshine for a New Year

Even when so many celebrate the birth of Jesus not on his real date of birth (October 17) but on the birthday of the goddess of light (December 25), at the end of the civic year we, before going into a new year, can bring our thoughts to him and his heavenly Father, the Divine Creator and giver of all good things around us. Let us in these darker days remember and be thankful for the light given to the world.

praise2worshipdotnet

Milk Eggs and Worry in the New Year by Peter Caligiuri

That is why I say to you, don’t worry about living—wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:25- 26 Phillips

I must confess that we New Englanders brag a lot about how tough we are when it comes to winter. We laugh uproariously at stories of school districts in the South shutting down because of a couple of inches of snow. But no matter how many New England snowstorms we have lived through, often our conversation at home when it starts falling, begins with the words, “Honey, can…

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Early morning haiku

 

Writer's Block

I’ve been getting up ridiculously early to get to work lately. Here are some of the words which have spilled out of my addled brain in those dark hours.

Black dawn silhouettes

The hoot of a waiting train

Square of lilac sky

.

Glimpsed from a rocking train

Balloons hang improbably

Fire shines within

.

Indigo morning

Cold light pools at the station

Runner shuffles past

.

Hard white stars greet me

the air cools my sandalled feet

Hurrying to work

.

Musselshell sky

Fleeting shadow puppets

Birds in bare branches

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April 2020

The 50 year old poet

Flowers are still growing,

birds are still singing

but a darkness has come

which will mean the end for some.

In just a short while

the world has lost its smile,

people forced into isolation

with the hope it may save their nation.

Politicians try to offer hope

to those finding it hard to cope,

mankind can be changed for good,

but only if the reality is understood.

Photo by David Cole on Pexels.com

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metaphors of birds

House of Heart

Communing with birds

I open my empty palms

expecting metaphors to light

like fireflies on my life line.

From the back of my eyes

I can see the river Delta,

sweet green tarpaulin stretched

across the hemisphere and those

deep murky waters that reflect

a silver sky.

Fleeting memories disperse like clouds.

Just before sleep I sink deep

into illusory havens,

escape the boredom of life.

Metaphor and Allegory by Ju-Yu Chen

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Window

We not only have the windows from our living quarters which may become dirty. Also our window on the world may become unclear because of the dust around us.

We should make sure that our window at the world is cleansed and that we can see further than the length of our nose.

Let us all dare to open a clean window to get some fresh air and to hear the birds singing their song, calling for attention and recognizance.

*

To remember

• what is outside the window? = what is there in outside world?
  
• window screen filters any noise of the living from inside out + outside in=> hear nothing => unanswered screams
  
• sky = magnificent

Kindness to Animals

Becoming is Superior to Being

House Finch On Old Rusty Wheel — Image by kenne

Kindness to Animals

Little children, never give
Pain to things that feel and live:
Let the gentle robin come
For the crumbs you save at home,—
As his meat you throw along
He’ll repay you with a song;
Never hurt the timid hare
Peeping from her green grass lair,
Let her come and sport and play
On the lawn at close of day;
The little lark goes soaring high.
To the bright windows of the sky,
Singing as if ’twere always spring,
And fluttering on an untired wing,—
Oh! let him sing his happy song,
Nor do these gentle creatures wrong.

— Anonymous

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Intelligent design Not chance > Flight of birds – Feathers

Wing feathers and bones (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

-Feathers: As well as the general streamlining and aerodynamic qualities of birds and aerofoil wing design, the feathers of birds are all important for effi­ciency in flight and accuracy of navigational movement through the air. Every movement of a feather when a bird is in flight is designed to extract energy from the air and utilise it effectively for control of the aerial medium through which it passes, as well as providing insulation, acting as fans, and contributing to the aerodynamic streamlining of the wonderful creature.

For their weight feathers are stronger than any man made substitute. A bird individually has literally thousands of feathers of different types, generally fluffy underneath (for warmth) and more sail-like above. For example a hen may have more than 8,300, a swan over 25,000 feathers! Eider ducks produce thousands of feathers, which are so soft and fluffy that they are used for eider downs and stuffing pillars.

The construction of feathers is a marvel of design. A single wing feather of a pigeon has more than a million individual parts, which testifies to its phenomenal micro engineering design. There is a central rachis or hollow, foam filled, spine or quill, from which arise barbs and from these barbules which zip together with minute hooks (hamuli). These feathers are kept in perfect order by the bird constantly preening its feathers. The feathers respond to air pressure and change shape constantly in relation to the changing pressure and air flow.

Flight feathers at the wing tip are flexible and mobile like a propellor and respond to flight patterns in movements, speed, landing and braking speed, gliding (called slotting). Other feathers function like like ailerons and flaps in an aircraft.

How could all this marvellous engineering design happen by chance? This is the absurd fantasy of so-called scientists who professing themselves wise are fools (pslm.I4.l, Rom. 1. 19,20).

At the base of each feather are nerve sensors, enabling the bird to exercise perfect control of every feather ,through the operation of up to 12,000 tiny muscles. The birds semicircular canals in its inner ear record the bird’s flight position and detect any change in conditions; this is communicated to the birds brain or cerebellum, very highly developed with an extraordinary number of sensory fibres (neurones), receiving a multitude of messages from transmissions of muscle tensions, and instantaneously reverse transmit, giving the bird split second co-ordination.

Four modes of flight are recognised power flying, gliding, soaring, and specialised flight. An Albatross, which has a 12 ft wing span, can glide round the Southern Ocean for literally thousands of miles above the surface of the sea without once flapping its wings. This is phenomenal. A guillemot dives into the ocean to catch a fish, travelling at 60 miles per hour when it enters the water! A Manx Shearwater traverses thousands of miles of (Atlantic) ocean extracting energy from the waves, which it skims! Hawks and eagles use thermal up-currents to soar in great circles, ascending and ascending into the heavens.

Blue jay flight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Solomon noted the marvellous flight of the eagle “The way of an eagle in the air, it is too wonderful for me.” (Pv, 30.19). David notes the extraordinary power of a dove’s flight “Oh that I had wings like a dove.” (Pslm. 55.6). The owl has perfectly silent, noiseless flight (stealth technology), as a result of an extraordinary array of soft downy flight feathers. Water fowl like ducks, oil their feathers making them waterproof, another miracle of design. For a feather to function, all its parts must be integrated together as a design to work.

It is impossible for a supposed long series of chance mutations over millions of years since it is an irreducible mechanism. Requiring, as in any complex advanced engineering project precision planning. A feather is a system of advanced biotechnology, a miracle.

By brother Richard Lister –
from The Apocalyptic Messenger, May 2003

+++

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Shy Beauties~

Hooded Oriole.

Acorn Woodpecker.

Most brightly plumed birds at The Holler.

They stand out.

And seem shy.

As if they sense,

they are almost too pretty.

Won’t let me get near.

Fly off with such fear.

Their beauty it seems is a burden.

Cheers to you from the Holler’s Shy Beauties~

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Spring Migration is on at The Holler~

Look who showed up, the Hooded Orioles!

It is cause for celebration when these raucous, rackety, bickering-beauties show up each spring to spend the summer.

I so look forward to another season of their antics. They make scrub jays seem shy, quiet and retiring by comparison!

The Black Headed Grosbeaks arrived with the Orioles.

They are much shyer birds but hopefully they will assert themselves a bit more with the orioles this season.

These birds have such powerful beaks they can crack sunflower seeds in one chomp!

They seem to be arriving in greater numbers which is encouraging.

The Bullocks Orioles are new arrivals at The Holler this year. They are less assertive than their hooded cousins and can be identified by the black stripe across their eyes.

The California Thrashers live at The Holler year round, and stay mostly on the ground where they run around in such a…

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Warm-blooded, feathered vertebrates

BIRDS

Birds are warm-blooded, feathered vertebrates and are oviparous, that is, egg laying. There are some 300 references to birds in the Bible, with about 30 different varieties being specifically named. Reference is made to their flight, often in escaping their enemies (Ps 11:1; Pr 26:2; 27:8; Isa 31:5; Ho 9:11); their roosting in trees (Ps 104:12; Mt 13:32); their nesting (Ps 84:3; Eze 31:6); their uses, particularly young pigeons and turtledoves, in sacrifice (Le 1:14; 14:4-7, 49-53) and as food (Ne 5:18), including their eggs (Isa 10:14; Lu 11:11, 12); and God’s provision and care for them.

Manyas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

26 Observe intently the birds of heaven;+ they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are?   (Matthew 6:26)

29 Two sparrows sell for a coin of small value,* do they not? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.+ (Matthew 10:29; compare De 22:6, 7).

Birds were among the earliest living souls on earth, coming into existence on the fifth creative “day” along with the marine creatures.

20 Then God said: “Let the waters swarm with living creatures,* and let flying creatures fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”*+21 And God created the great sea creatures* and all living creatures* that move and swarm in the waters according to their kinds and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 With that God blessed them, saying: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the waters of the sea,+ and let the flying creatures become many in the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23)

Of the general terms used in the Bible that apply to birds, the most frequent Hebrew word is ʽohph, basically meaning “flying creature” (Ge 1:20), which may include not only birds but also winged insects. (Compare Le 11:13, 21-23.) The Hebrew tsip·pohr′ also occurs in a large number of texts and is a generic term applying to birds in general. (Ge 7:14) A third Hebrew term, ʽa′yit, is applied solely to the birds of prey.

Bird – Seagull enjoying the sunset (Photo credit: blmiers2)

The following terms are found in the Greek Scriptures: or′ne·on, meaning simply “bird” (Re 18:2); pe·tei·non′ and pte·nos′, both literally meaning “flier.” (Ro 1:23; 1Co 15:39; compare Int.) At Acts 17:18 Athenian philosophers referred to the apostle Paul as a “chatterer.” The Greek word here (sper·mo·lo′gos) was applied to a bird that picks up seeds, while figuratively it was used of a person who picks up scraps by begging or stealing, or, as in the case cited, one who repeats scraps of knowledge, an idle babbler.

A thoughtful study of birds gives convincing proof of the Biblical teaching that they are of divine creation. While birds and reptiles are both oviparous, reptiles are cold-blooded, often sluggish, whereas birds are warm-blooded and among the most active of all earth’s creatures; they also have an unusually rapid heartbeat. The evolutionary view that reptilian scales and front limbs eventually developed into feathered wings is both fanciful and baseless. The fossils of birds called by scientists Archaeopteryx (or, ancient wing) and Archaeornis (or, ancient bird), though showing teeth and a long vertebrated tail, also show that they were completely feathered, had feet equipped for perching, and had fully developed wings. No intermediate specimens, exhibiting scales developing into feathers or front legs into wings, exist to give any semblance of support to the evolution theory. As expressed by the apostle Paul, birds are of a distinct “flesh” from others of earth’s creatures.

Bird – Duck – Mallard (Photo credit: blmiers2)

39 Not all flesh is the same flesh, but there is one of mankind, there is another flesh of cattle, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.  (1Corinthians 15:39).

The psalmist called upon the “winged birds” to praise Jehovah (Ps 148:1, 10), and birds do this by their very structure and their complex design. A single bird may have from 1,000 to over 20,000 feathers. Yet each feather is composed of a shaft from which branch out hundreds of barbs forming an inner web, each barb containing several hundred smaller barbules and each barbule having hundreds of barbicels and hooklets. A single six-inch wing feather of a pigeon is thus estimated to contain some hundreds of thousands of barbules and literally millions of barbicels. The aerodynamic principles built into birds’ wings and body design surpass in complexity and efficiency that of modern-day aircraft. A bird’s hollow bones contribute to its lightness, and thus the skeleton of a frigate bird with a 2-m (7 ft) wingspan may weigh only about 110 g (4 oz). Certain wing bones of large soaring birds even have trusslike supports, like the struts inside airplane wings, within the hollow portions.

At the time of the Flood, Noah introduced into the ark for preservation pairs of birds “according to their kinds.”

7 So Jehovah said: “I am going to wipe men whom I have created off the surface of the ground, man together with domestic animals, creeping animals, and flying creatures of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them.” … 19 And bring into the ark two of every sort of living creature+ in order to preserve them alive with you, a male and a female;+ 20 of the flying creatures according to their kinds, the domestic animals according to their kinds, and all creeping animals of the ground  (Genesis 6:7, 19-20)

3 also of the flying creatures of the sky by sevens,* male and female, to preserve their offspring alive over all the earth.+ …

23 So He wiped every living thing from the surface of the earth, including man, animals, creeping animals, and the flying creatures of the sky. They were all wiped off the earth;+ only Noah and those with him in the ark survived.+ (Genesis 7:3, 23)

Manyas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is no certain way of knowing how many different “kinds” of birds then existed, some types of birds having become extinct even in recent times. However, it is of interest to note that the listing of birds according to present-day scientific classification presented in The New Encyclopædia Britannica (1985, Vol. 15, pp. 14-106) gives a total of only 221 bird “families,” including some that are now extinct or known only in fossil form. There are, of course, thousands of varieties included within these “families.” {Note}

Following the global Flood, Noah offered up “clean flying creatures” along with animals as a sacrifice. (Ge 8:18-20) Birds were thereafter made allowable by God for inclusion in man’s diet, as long as the blood was not eaten. (Ge 9:1-4; compare Le 7:26; 17:13.) The ‘cleanness’ of certain birds at that time therefore evidently relates to some divine indication of acceptableness for sacrifice; the Biblical record shows that, as regards their being used as food, none of the birds were designated as “unclean” until the introduction of the Mosaic Law. (Le 11:13-19, 46, 47; 20:25; De 14:11-20) The factors determining which birds were designated ceremonially “unclean” are not expressly stated in the Bible. Thus, while most of those so designated were birds of prey or scavengers, not all of them were.  This prohibition was lifted following the establishment of the new covenant, as God made evident to Peter by a vision.

9 The next day as they were continuing on their journey and were approaching the city, Peter went up to the housetop about the sixth hour* to pray. 10 But he became very hungry and wanted to eat. While they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance+11 and saw heaven opened and something* descending like a great linen sheet being let down by its four corners on the earth; 12 and in it were all sorts of four-footed animals and reptiles* of the earth and birds of heaven. 13 Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said: “Not at all, Lord, because I have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.”+15 And the voice spoke again to him, the second time: “Stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed.” (Acts of the apostles 10:9-15).

Birds (Photo credit: Emyan)

The identification of the birds specifically named in the Bible presents a difficult problem in some cases. Lexicographers generally are guided by the root meaning of the name, since this is usually descriptive, by indications in the context as to the bird’s habits and habitat, and by observation of the birds known to be found in the Bible lands. In many cases the names are believed to be onomatopoeic, that is, imitating the sound produced by the bird.

The diverse topography of Palestine, ranging from cool mountain peaks to deep sweltering valleys and from arid deserts to maritime plains, all together near the SE corner of the Mediterranean Sea, makes it a focal point for a great variety of bird types. Mount Hermon, in the N, is snowcapped for much of the year, while the region about 200 km (125 mi) to the S along the lower Jordan Valley and near the Dead Sea is hot and tropical. Each of these zones contains birds peculiar to its own environment, either alpine or tropical, as do also the temperate zones and the desert regions. (Ps 102:6; 104:16, 17) Additionally, Palestine is on one of the major migrational routes followed annually by birds (storks, turtledoves, quail, swifts, swallows, bulbuls, cuckoos, and others) traveling N from Africa in the spring or S from Europe and Asia in the fall. (Ca 2:11, 12; Jer 8:7) Thus it is estimated that about 470 varieties of birds may be found in Palestine at some time during the course of a year. In view of the deterioration of Palestinian forests and vegetation over the centuries, it is likely that in Biblical times the bird population was even greater.

Particularly notable are the great numbers of birds of prey (Heb., ʽa′yit) found in Palestine, including eagles, hawks, falcons, kites, and vultures. Back in Abraham’s time, birds of prey tried to descend upon Abraham’s sacrifice of certain animals and birds, obliging him to drive them off until the sun began to set. (Ge 15:9-12; compare 2Sa 21:10.) In their search for food these birds rely on their powerful telescopic sight, rather than on their relatively weak sense of smell.

The well-known sight of a cluster of scavenger birds gathered around a carcass often served as the basis for an ominous warning to an enemy (1Sa 17:44, 46), and repeatedly formed part of divinely inspired prophetic warnings to the nation of Israel and its rulers (De 28:26; 1Ki 14:11; 21:24; Jer 7:33; 15:3) as well as to foreign nations. (Isa 18:1, 6; Eze 29:5; 32:4) Thus, the one used by Jehovah to execute judgement was figuratively represented by “a bird of prey.” (Isa 46:11) Desolation of a city or land was depicted by its becoming the habitat of certain birds of solitary nature (Isa 13:19-21; compare Re 18:2) or by the disappearance of all bird life. (Jer 4:25-27; 9:10; 12:4; Ho 4:3; Zep 1:3) The proclamation calling all the birds to gather to feast upon the dead bodies of Gog of Magog and his crowd (Eze 39:1-4, 17-21) is paralleled by that recorded in Revelation in which the bodies of national rulers and their armies become food for “all the birds that fly in midheaven” as a result of the executional work of Christ Jesus as King.

11 I saw heaven opened, and look! a white horse.+ And the one seated on it is called Faithful+ and True,+ and he judges and carries on war in righteousness.+12 His eyes are a fiery flame,+ and on his head are many diadems.* He has a name written that no one knows but he himself, 13 and he is clothed with an outer garment stained* with blood, and he is called by the name The Word+ of God. 14 Also, the armies in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. 15 And out of his mouth protrudes a sharp, long sword+ with which to strike the nations, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron.+ Moreover, he treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.+16 On his outer garment, yes, on his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.+

17 I saw also an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice and said to all the birds that fly in midheaven:* “Come here, be gathered together to the great evening meal of God,+18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of military commanders and the flesh of strong men+ and the flesh of horses and of those seated on them,+ and the flesh of all, of freemen as well as of slaves and of small ones and great.”

19 And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse and against his army.+20 And the wild beast was caught, and along with it the false prophet+ that performed in front of it the signs with which he misled those who received the mark of the wild beast+ and those who worship its image.+ While still alive, they both were hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur.+21 But the rest were killed off with the long sword that proceeded out of the mouth of the one seated on the horse.+ And all the birds were filled with their flesh.+ (Revelation 19:11-21; contrast this with God’s comforting words to his people, at Ho 2:18-20).

18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals of the field,+ And with the birds of the heavens and the creeping things of the ground;+ I will rid the land of the bow and the sword and war,+ And I will make them lie down* in security.+19 I will engage myself to you forever; And I will engage myself to you in righteousness and in justice, In loyal love and in mercy.+ 20 I will engage myself to you in faithfulness, And you will certainly know Jehovah.’+ (Hosea 2:18-20)

Worship of birds as representing the true God was prohibited to the nation of Israel (De 4:15-17) but was prominent among the pagan nations, particularly in Egypt. (Ro 1:23) Hundreds of bird mummies have been found in Egyptian tombs, principally of birds such as the falcon, the vulture, and the ibis, all of which were sacred among the Egyptians. Egyptian hieroglyphics contain some 22 different bird signs.

Bird (Photo credit: DeusXFlorida (5,003,637 views) – thanks guys!)

+

{Note}: The “kinds” of animals selected had reference to the clear-cut and unalterable boundaries or limits set by the Creator, within which boundaries creatures are capable of breeding “according to their kinds.” It has been estimated by some that the hundreds of thousands of species of animals today could be reduced to a comparatively few family “kinds”—the horse kind and the cow kind, to mention but two. The breeding boundaries according to “kind” established by Jehovah were not and could not be crossed. With this in mind some investigators have said that, had there been as few as 43 “kinds” of mammals, 74 “kinds” of birds, and 10 “kinds” of reptiles in the ark, they could have produced the variety of species known today. Others have been more liberal in estimating that 72 “kinds” of quadrupeds and less than 200 bird “kinds” were all that were required. That the great variety of animal life known today could have come from inbreeding within so few “kinds” following the Flood is proved by the endless variety of humankind—short, tall, fat, thin, with countless variations in the colour of hair, eyes, and skin—all of whom sprang from the one family of Noah.

Sleeping Caribbean Flamingo at the Metro Toronto Zoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

+

Additional reading:

1. Praise be to God
2. Praise the God with His Name
3. Praise the most High Jehovah God above all
4. Make a joyful noise unto Yahweh, rejoice, and sing praise unto Jehovah

+++

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  A man walks under the shadow of a model pterosaur. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

  Look at the birds outside your window: little feathery things that beg for crumbs and make cute chirpy noises. What if they were nine metres across and could fold up their wings and walk on all fours? Not so cute. Long ago, just such hulking creatures ruled the skies.

  Pterosaurs were Earth’s first flying vertebrates. Although birds and bats have taken wing in the 66m years since their extinction, we don’t have any flying creatures that approach the size of the biggest pterosaurs. The largest known specimen, Quetzalcoatlus, had a 10-metre wingspan. An immense vertebra recently found in Romania suggests that pterosaurs may have grown even bigger than that. The largest flying animals today, such as the wandering albatross and the Andean condor, average a wingspan of around three metres.

• Birds (milliesmindofmadness.wordpress.com)
  Birds are a symbol of freedom and liberty. Then why, I ask, did a bird poo on me yesterday when I was walking my dogs? Why? Could the bird not have the decency to poo somewhere else other than my face. I know that it was multi-tasking but that bird needs to think of others before it let’s loose it’s poo on me. Furthermore, where I was walking was a nice pleasant area so to quote my dad, I got pooed on by a posh bird.
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  Birds (class Aves or clade Avialae) are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. With around 10,000 living species, they are the most specioseclass of tetrapod vertebrates.
• Rise of Animals: David Attenborough explores evolution of vertebrates (thisismoney.co.uk)
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• A fallen feather (raoulpop.com)
  The birds we seldom notice, unless they muck up our freshly washed cars, are able to do something no human being has been able to do so far, without the aid of an engineered mechanism. They’re able to take flight, freely, and soar high above the ground, surveying all they can see, while humans are stuck on the ground.
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  The remains of eight bald eagles and one golden eagle have been found in a ditch near Kamloops, B.C.Officials with the Conservation Officer Service say the carcasseswere discovered last month in the ditch beside a well-used public road.Heads, feet, tail feathers and wings of all nine birds had been removed.

   

A Bird’s-Eye View of Fishing

Problems to solve

Fishers — whether humans or birds — have three fundamental problems to solve:

(1) find fish, (2) approach them, and (3) capture them.

A typical method of early Egyptian fishermen was to use a harpoon to spear fish. These fishermen employed the same basic techniques that some birds of the heron family used long before human competitors appeared on the scene.

Great Blue Heron (Photo credit: Vicki’s Nature)

The gray heron, a bird common in Egypt’s Nile delta, uses its sharp beak like a lance to spear fish. It can even spear two different fish at the same time, and it may eat over a pound (0.5 kg) of fish a day. The heron might be said to surpass human fishermen in guile.

Generally, herons specialize in stalking and striking their prey. A heron will wade slowly through shallow water or sometimes just stay totally still with its beak at the ready. When a fish comes within striking distance, the heron plunges its head into the water and captures the fish with its beak. Patience is usually the key to the bird’s success.

Fishing

Fishing With Bait

According to the book The Life of Birds, green-backed herons in Japan seem to imitate people who feed bread to fish found in ornamental lakes. Those ingenious birds use pieces of bread to lure fish to within easy reach.

Egrets in the Caribbean also use bread to lure fish. Egrets even catch fish without any bait at all, using their yellow feet. Standing in shallow water on one foot, they wag their other foot in the water to attract the attention of inquisitive fish.

Grab-and-Go Techniques

African fish eagle just caught a cat fish in Lake Baringo, Kenya (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Birds do their fishing in various ways. Fish eagles, often called osprey, could best be described as grab-and-go fishers. They fly above the water, keeping a lookout for any fish swimming near the surface. Once one is spotted, they fold their wings and dive steeply toward the water, realigning their swoop as necessary before snatching the fish with their talons. This technique requires perfect timing and excellent eyesight.

Sometimes the African fish eagle discovers that the fish it has captured with its talons is too heavy to lift. The fish may weigh up to six pounds (2.7 kg)! What does the eagle do then? Naturalists have observed some solving the problem by paddling to shore using their wings!

Diving for Dinner

Gannets and boobies also dive for fish, but they use a vertical dive. Small flocks fly together searching for shoals of fish that swim near the surface. The silvery bodies of these fish change the color of the sea from dark blue to pale green when viewed from above. This telltale patch of green sets gannets and boobies in motion.

After locating a shoal of fish, gannets plunge like arrows into the water at speeds of up to 60 miles (96.56 km) an hour. The birds create a spectacle one might compare to an Olympic diving competition. Other flocks soon notice the activity and quickly arrive at the spot to share in the feast.

An African Fish Eagle about to catch a fish in Lake Naivasha, Great Rift Valley, Kenya. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unlike herons, boobies and gannets do not spear the fish when their head enters the water. The force of their dive carries the birds to a depth of several feet. Then, as they swim to the surface, they catch the fish and swallow it whole.

Terns are also proficient divers, but they swoop and hover much closer to the water. The Handbook of the Birds of the World explains that rather than dive-bombing as boobies and gannets do, terns depend on “skill, grace and agility in flight.” They will scoop a fish from the surface. Only briefly, on occasion, do they pursue a fish under water.

Team-spirit

Fishing as a Team

Pelicans may look ungainly because of their huge beaks, but they are accomplished fliers and fishermen. Brown pelicans usually dive for their dinner, and they may also snatch fish from local fishermen as they haul in their nets. But pelicans really excel at collective fishing.

By nature, pelicans are gregarious. A remarkable trait is their habit of coordinating fishing efforts. Typically, a flock of a dozen birds alight on the water and form a semicircle. Swimming slowly, they herd a shoal of fish into a convenient shallow area. As they do, they all open their wings and submerge their heads in unison, gulping fish into their beaks.

Of course, like any human fishers, birds often fail in their attempts. But their success rate is generally much higher than that of their human competitors.

Snowy Egret (Photo credit: ArthurJo)

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Related articles

• Awakenings on the River (playamart.wordpress.com)
  The Daily Post tossed out a challenge with four options this week; I selected this one: “Take a draft post that you didn’t published because it didn’t turn out as you expected. Change the story, revise it, and publish.”
• Master fisherman heron catches a fish using bread as bait (thisismoney.co.uk)
  As most avid fisherman will tell you, you’ve got to use the right bait to attract the big fish.While a seagull might happily feast on a proffered chunk of bread, a green heron knows exactly how to turn that bread into a fish supper.A fascinating video of the heron’s antics shows the bird dropping the bread in the water to lure a fish.
• Constant cacophony: Herons return to Devil’s Lake (wiscnews.com)
  According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website, herons are about 4 feet tall, and theycan be identified by their distinctive coloration, which includes blue-grey feathers with a black stripe and plume above their eyes. Their long, yellow beak is perfect for spearing fish.“They’re migrating back now,” Johansen said of the birds, adding that the male herons return first.

  The females arrive soon after.

  “The males will come in, and they’re figuring out their territories, and then they will attract a female to come in and build a nest and start a family together,” Johansen said.

• Loving Who You Are: The Story of the Heron and the Crow (mylovingartproject.com)
  The heron knew his time had come. Even the crows knew that the heron was the most patient of all the water birds. He did not mind standing in the water for long periods of time. Today, the heron was firmly planted and balanced on one leg. His piercing eyes were searching. He was ready to harpoon his long and agile beak into the water at the first sign of movement.At that very moment, the last crow circled above the heron and accidentally dropped what was in its beak. The crow’s prized catch fell straight down to the water from high above.  It was a thrown out piece of candy wrapped in a shiny red foil. The wrapper sparkled in the sunlight all the way down and hit the water with a small flicker.  This caused a faint glimmer of light and immediately caught the attention of the largest fish in the lake. In a flash, the fish swam quickly up to the surface and the heron, who was ready and waiting, made the final move. The heron was a skilled fisher and he did not need to chase the fish. His beak moved swiftly and decisively down into the water and the fish was his at last.
• Colonial Waterbird Monitoring (gulfcoastbirdobservatory.wordpress.com)
  All these different species nesting in one place is gorgeous, but add to it that all of these birds were parading around in their fantastic breeding plumage and you have yourself a breathtaking view that you never want to leave. Breeding plumage is of course the plumage many birds acquire right before the breeding season to try to attract a mate. Birds dress up to impress each other too! This plumage may include bright colors or unusual feather shapes (such as plumes and streamers).
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  Words could never do these beauties justice. Whether breeding or not these birds are remarkable, but that extra boost of breeding plumage only adds to the wonder of these amazing creatures. It was an amazing experience and if you ever get the chance to see a heron rookery you should definitely go!
• Herons and egrets in the UK – your Green shoots photographs (theguardian.com)
  Every year grey herons gather in large numbers to breed and raise young, building huge untidy nests out of large twigs, perilously perched high up in clumps of tall trees. London’s Battersea park has a heronry of 30 nests, but from Ulster to Northamptonshire and Devon to Cheshire, now is the best time to see these nests in the wild. Here is a list of best places to see heronries

  

  Little egret (Egretta garzetta) are, as their name suggests, much smaller than the great whites. They are about 60cm tall, with a wingspan of about 90cm. Photograph: Jump for joy2010/Green Shoots/Flickr

• Wild Heron at the Oceanside Harbor (bilomathewsblog.wordpress.com)
  We like to walk to the beach harbor at Oceanside to watch the activities of people and the pelicans that hang around the fishing boats docked at the harbor. The pelicans will follow the fishing boats that return from the ocean into the harbor knowing that there is possibility of getting fish treats from the boat crew.

A bird’s eye and reflecting from within

Can you imagine flying birds travelling for miles and miles, crossing habitat regions and places where nearly no human being tramples on the ground.

metropolis (Photo credit: jonfeinstein)

From high above those birds can see how those earthlings destroy their own habitat. They see them wanting to live in their own dirt.

Those birds look down at those creatures who so often dream about what they can do and worry so much about the day of tomorrow. They do not imagine the life those people want, though many of them might imagine wonderful things.
Those beings down there spent lots of their time focusing on gathering all sorts of material gadgets. Their world seems to turn more around money than on getting food. Though we must be honest lots of them also focus their intention toward realizing their deepest desires and dreams.

How many of those people dare to go up in the sky and go forward to that one goal, thousands of miles away?

How many would begin to believe those dreams, aims and goals were possible?

A Soul Talk questions:

If you gave your attention to those things in your mind that spoke of your great beauty and talent, would you start to believe and have confidence in yourself again?  If life all around you is simply a reflection of those thoughts you most focus on, wouldn’t you be more careful of what you repeated over and over again to yourself?

When we look in nature we do see that the seasons decide what shall going to happen. The animals do not doubt. They are not going to wait and see if it will be worthwhile to take off or to settle down.

The birds can often see man as a fish which fails to see the water it swims in. They have a brain but use it strangely and are so often more concerned about figuring things out. they all think they are able to make and control their own world. Most of them want to play for God. Everything they do becomes calculated. Modern mind has become more and more calculating.

The calculative exactness of practical life which the money economy has brought about corresponds to the ideal of natural science: to transform the world into an arithmetic problem, to fix every part of the world by mathematical formulas. Only money economy has filled the days of so many people with weighing, calculating, with numerical determinations, with a reduction of qualitative values to quantitative ones. (“The Metropolis and Mental Life” p.412)

They all look for consistent and reliable formulas to how life works. For them formulas are re-assuring, such as

“be a banker/lawyer/accountant/doctor, because these jobs translate into big numbers, and these big numbers mean success”.

Success is something which they can count and measure. They have their eyes focused on those pieces of papers with heads and figures on it, but do not see where they are flying at.

Eddie Tay on Hong Kong lucida writes:

Of course, there are many successful bankers/lawyers/accountants/doctors who lead meaningful lives and who enjoy their jobs. I’m only arguing against the confusion between quality and quantity. Quality cannot be easily quantified. Sometimes we play this soundtrack too readily. {The Metropolis and Mental Life}

Hong Kong Kowloon Panorama Victoria Peak 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the birds it may look like life for man is oh so infinitely easy, and everything seems to lie at their fingertips. They have their big nests,  buildings which want to compete with the trees and air around, hoping to be the tallest one. They have their educational institutions, in the wonders and comforts of space-conquering technology, in the formations of community life, and in the visible institutions of the state. They offer themselves fantasies and create fro themselves an overwhelming fullness of crystallized and impersonalized spirit that the personality, so to speak, cannot maintain itself under its impact. From all sides they allow ideas coming up to them, in the hope they can become a personality like by the others. From the others they want to receive stimulations and interests. They all are consumed by time.

They carry the person as if in a stream, and one needs hardly to swim for oneself. On the other hand, however, life is composed more and more of these impersonal contents and offerings which tend to displace the genuine personal colorations and incomparabilities. This results in the individual’s summoning the utmost in uniqueness and particularization, in order to preserve his most personal core. He has to exaggerate this personal element in order to remain audible even to himself.  (“The Metropolis and Mental Life” p. 422)

Eddie Tay finds this to be rather depressing.

The modern concern with the uniqueness of our personality emerges out of an anxiety. Now that everything is for sale, we’re compelled to be “unique”, “autonomous” and “individual” so as to differentiate ourselves from other cogs in the giant capitalist machine. “Look at me I’m so unique and interesting,” I tell myself and others, knowing that there are tens of thousands of people around me (and many with blogs like this) saying precisely the same thing. {The Metropolis and Mental Life}

Many more people should be aware that

We are surrounded by things we buy with numbers. And these things, whether tangible or intangible, which we buy and sell, turn us into who we are. {The Metropolis and Mental Life}

Photo from Eddie Tay, Honk Kong lucida

We make ourselves, by what we consume for our mind and for our mind. Stomach and brain take up the food what we present it, we can either make it healthy or poison it. When you look at certain markets, it seems that people can not get enough of material, but also are drowning themselves by it. Too many people forget what impact all those things around them can have on their life.

We all should better take a moment to transfer ourselves in a bird and look at ourselves from way up there in the sky. We should take some distance, now and then, from what we do and want to do, and reflect on what we did, want to do and on what we would like to succeed and which goal we would like to make.

With Spring time we should not only do our Spring cleaning but we could take a new start. You too, can start today to believe that you can impact your external world by placing your focus on images of love, kindness, and joy and you will truly be surprised by what you attract to yourself.

Start today to live in consciousness as to what is happening within you, you will then have the grand opportunity to create what is happening around you in a more remarkable and enjoyable way. {Simply a reflection from within!}

The mother of Soul talk has learned her lesson from the wise song of her toddler which continues to ring true- in the face of adversity “Never give up never never give up!”.

Keep the faith and you shall persevere- I have learned this very difficult lesson recently and can tell you your only choice is to keep the faith and move forward-the alternative is not so appealing- I can promise you that-your biggest break can be just around the corner and if you did not move towards it you would never know. {Never give up!}

Every year again the birds make their nest. They never seem to be tired to do it over and over again. We should also continue trying to do the things we really want to do.

There are millions of people who do not know they have a security key in their own hands. They themselves have been given, by birth, the key to knowledge and inner peace. All being created in the image of the Divine Creator we do have elements from this Eternal Spirit. He acknowledges our being, but we ourselves are not willing to see our own being in relationship with Him. There lies the biggest problem of humankind.

In case we would accept the Creator of our being, and accept that He has to be the Most High Master, than we could find fulfilment and guidance by following His instructions which He has given to the whole world.

In the Garden of Eden He has given man the right to take care of the world himself. But He always was prepared to help those who wanted Him next to them. Those who want His Guidance He is willing to give.

As adults, we build upon the hopes of our parents and the fertile imaginations of our youth. We continue to foster the dreams that were born in our hearts on our first day of life, yet now have the tools to bring those dreams forth into our realities. {With courage, our dreams become reality!}

That is not bad. We all should have dreams and continue to make dreams. We should try to build up our life by dreams coming through. We have to foster our dreams and have to build up courage to see them through.

The courage to step beyond our fears of failure. The courage to meet doubt head on.  The courage to pursue the ideas that were born in us, given to us, to be discovered by us to enjoy the fantastic world that begs for us to explore. The courage to make all our dreams come true. {With courage, our dreams become reality!}

In case we would accept the Guiding Hand of the Creator and dare to ask Him to help us, He will be there for us.

If we ask, believe, and have the courage to act, and begin to receive, the life we have imagined can be the life we are living.  When we start to believe and have faith in all that is possible for us, then we align with the hopes of our parents, the child within who dared to be whomever she wanted to be, and the adult whose courageous acts of faith allow those dreams to become a reality. {With courage, our dreams become reality!}

We often forget just to take some time to be with that Mightier Being. We mostly trust to much those who are of this earth, instead of counting on the one in heaven.

Why not trying to take a turning point? Why not simply taking the time each day to focus on those positive attributes and intentions that give you great happiness? Putting on the right mind shall help us but also those around us, on the right track and bring them in the right mood. When we do take a positive attitude we may rest assured that people and things will start to show up in your life that will greatly add to your happiness.

Let it be said that a person who feels good on the inside will experience that good on the outside.  A person who looks at life with a glass half full mentality, will eventually have their cup runneth over.  Your world is but a mirror of what is happening inside of you. So before you start your day, promise yourself that you will take a moment or two to reflect on what you are grateful for to charge those positive emotions, then set out to experience your own something wonderful  when you start from that joyous place within. If your world is simply a reflection from within, wouldn’t it be in you best interest to make it the best reflection of a well lived life that you could ever imagine!   {Simply a reflection from within!}

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Preceding articles:

Birds, Birds Everywhere

Birds’ Eye

Food for Thought-Birds of Caution

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Additional reading:

1. Searching for fulfilment and meaning through own efforts, facing unsatisfaction and depression
2. The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places
3. Some one or something to fear #2 Attitude and Reactions
4. God Feeds The Birds
5. Food as a Therapeutic Aid
6. Men as God
7. People Seeking for God 5 Bread of life
8. People Seeking for God 6 Strategy
9. Religions and Mainliners
10. The truth is very plain to see and God can be clearly seen
11. A Living Faith #2 State of your faith
12. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
13. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
14. A Living Faith #12 The Love for Jesus
15. Some one or something to fear #7 Not afraid for Gods Name
16. Texts, writers, accessibility and willingness
17. Rest thy delight on Jehovah
18. Without God no purpose, no goal, no hope
19. A goal is a dream with a plan
20. A treasure which can give me everything I need
21. Opportunity!
22. Count your blessings
23. By counting our blessings we not only feel good, but we multiply our good
24. Set free from any form of mental torment or self-condemnation
25. A good idea to halt all activity for one hour some day
26. We should use the Bible every day
27. Come ye yourselves apart … and rest awhile (Mark 6:31)
28. God does not change
29. See the conquest and believe that we can gain the victory
30. Not holding back and getting out of darkness
31. A New Perspective
32. The Paradigm of Instinct, Intuition and Intention
33. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
34. Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite
35. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
36. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
37. Points to remember of philosophy versus spirituality and religion
38. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
39. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal
40. Try driving forward instead of backwards
41. Life is like a ten-speed bike.
42. Suffering produces perseverance

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Related articles

• Chris Packham: Malta is a bird hell (theguardian.com)
  When Chris Packham announced he was heading to Malta to report on the island’s annual spring bird shoot as if he was a war correspondent covering a conflict, even his admirers probably thought he was guilty of hyperbole.But after a week in which the naturalist has detained by police for five hours, shoved to the ground by gunmen and witnessed the illegal killing of dozens of endangered birds, his mission to raise awareness of the annual slaughter of migratory birds has been more like a battle than he imagined.
• Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (gardenwalkgardentalk.com)
  Since Earth Day just passed, I was thinking why can’t everyday be Earth Day? You visit places like this and wonder why can’t there be more wild spaces to enjoy. After all, without these wild and natural spaces, we would not have much of a world.
• Birds Slam Into Windows, Leave Long Island Couple Lying Awake (newyork.cbslocal.com)
  It has been a full week of rude awakenings for a Long Island couple, who said their home has been under siege by a group of birds slamming into their windows over and over again.As CBS 2’s Elise Finch reported Monday, the problem that Peter and Lisa Kersich of Holbrook have been experiencing is common at this time of year.The loud thumps have been waking them up morning after morning.
• Fly like a bird (lovingmefirstblog.wordpress.com)
  1) how do we know the bird hasn’t flown (are we worried about other’s achievements more than our own and we view this bird as a solitary soul who hasn’t taken the leap of faith?)
  2) what if the bird has flown but it feels most comfortable where it sits now? (maybe the world isn’t as amazing as we think it is)
  3) what if the bird is hurt, alone, lost or perhaps needs a push?
• Dream-Like Song Created From Birds Perched On Electric Wires Proves Nature Is Perfect (fromthetrenchesworldreport.com)
  “Reading the newspaper one morning, I saw this picture of birds on the electric wires,” says video creator Jarbas Agnelli.”I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.”
• Garden Birds – Indigo Bunting (roadsendnaturalist.wordpress.com)
  If, as Thoreau says, the bluebird carries the sky on its back, the Indigo Bunting may sometimes be carrying storm clouds. These common open space birds are now arriving back in NC from their tropical winter homes and the males have dressed for the occasion.
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  I see them every year along the power line corridor, but I hope to spend a little more time this summer listening for their distinctive calls (the male sings all day, even in the heat of summer) and enjoying their brilliant blue attire.
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  Garden Birds – Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  I often describe these active birds as looking and behaving like a tiny mockingbird. They are always fun to watch as they hop through the branches, or hover beneath one, snatching an insect meal. And their small size, white eye ring, blue-gray coloration, and exaggerated tail, make them easy to identify.
• Not Just Sparrows and Pigeons: Cities Harbor 20 Percent of World’s Bird Species (allaboutbirds.org)
  Rock Pigeons, House Sparrows, and European Starlings are widely known as “city birds,” and with good reason. These three species (plus Barn Swallow) occur in more than 80 percent of cities according to the first-ever global study of biodiversity in urban areas, published earlier this year in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. But there’s more to cities than this narrow cast of avian urbanites: cities also retain more of their region’s native diversity than previously thought, according to the study’s analyses of bird and plant census data. So take heart, your next city stroll has much more to offer than just a few ubiquitous species.In fact, at least 2,041 species—20 percent of all known bird species—live in the world’s cities, according to the research. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on single cities or regions, this study spanned six continents, compiling data on birds from 54 cities and plants from 110 cities. The researchers themselves hailed from North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa.
• Look to the skies to spot the bounty of birds returning to Saskatchewan (metronews.ca)
  This is likely the most exciting time to cast our eyes upward and behold some of the beauty we take for granted in the skies.The birds that soar above are not here by chance. Indeed, it is of their own will that they come back to Saskatchewan.
• Two Birds 114/365 Side A (theyearofdreamingdangerouslymardilinane2014.wordpress.com)
  two birds / floated over / the canyon / floated in circles
• 10 Incredible Bird Photography Tips for Beginners (digital-photography-school.com)
  What is the most important factor in getting your bird photographs noticed by a large audience? Is it the camera or the lens or the bird?

Food for Thought – Birds of Caution

Related articles

• Are starlings taking over?
• Dream-Like Song Created From Birds Perched On Electric Wires Proves Nature Is Perfect
• Shakespeare’s birds cause US trouble
• Rare White Stork spotted by bird watchers in Spencers Wood
• Chris Packham: Malta is a bird hell
• And the birds
• Ancient Bluebell Woods
• Let’s Talk About Birds: Orioles
• Bird Feeder Buying Guide

 

Birds’ Eye

What we see if we flew?
Would we see lines as rivers?
Would we see people and animals?
Would there be details to the mountains, rivers and streams?

I say that we can fly.
And we will see what we want to see.
Just close your eyes and let your mind wander.
You will see what you would see from a birds’ eye view.

– Daphne Osman

A young girl still in school. She has always dreamed of seeing her work on the internet.

Sunset Over Pacific (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Related articles

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  time to switch from telephoto lens to macro lens. From birds to moths which had gathered on the building.
• Food for Thought-Birds of Caution (richardsfoodforthought.com)

  Birds of caution
  Never fly
  Dreams of motion
  Make them sigh

  Content to watch
  From their place
  While others seek
  Open space

• Eagles Wings (1realgirlwriter.com)
  I met a girl in a lake today
  On her arm was inked a tattoo
  It was an image of a bird of prey
  An eagle proud and trueThis girl thought she had clipped its wings
  Because she did not fly
  The sky was bright and crystal blue
  But yet she choose to hide
• Urban river pollutants suppress wild bird development (sciencedaily.com)
  Hormone disrupting pollutants are affecting the health and development of wild birds nesting along the urban rivers of South Wales, new research shows. Findings reveal that chicks of the Eurasian Dipper — a river bird that feeds exclusively on insects and fish in upland streams — are underweight compared to their rural counterparts. Also of concern is that birds nesting in urban rivers have altered hormone levels, and are hatching fewer female chicks than those nesting along rural rivers, which could have negative implications for the population’s breeding and survival.
• Nijhum Dwip – The quite island of Bangladesh (remit2homeblog.wordpress.com)
  The virgin island of “Nijhum Dwip” is enriched with plants, animals and natural beauty. It is raised on the estuary on the channel of the Meghna River on the mouth of the mighty Bay of Bengal. The geographical location of Nijhum Dwip has been identified just two kilometres south west of Hatia Upazila and directed under the jurisdiction of the Noakhali District of Bangladesh. Nijhum Dwip consists of more than 4 / 5 small islands like Char Kamla, Char Osman, Corner of Char Osman and isolated from the mainland by Hatia channel.
• Birds above us (fortiscorde.wordpress.com)
  I decided to safely jot down lines of poetry . . . *winks deviously* . . . while I innocently appeared to be taking notes. But sketching has always been my means of absorbing and staying focused. So that I wouldn’t fall asleep in the middle of class (even if it was one of my favorite classes at the school: Paideia).
• Until Bird-racketing Dawn (seshatwuji.wordpress.com)
  Though aging does that just fine
  Our wings of where we
  Once flew, the sunlit open skies
  And when red breaks out
• Rare bird spotted near Pelee sparks buzz in birding community (blogs.windsorstar.com)
  According to the National Audobon Society, the Smith’s Longspur is a sparrow-sized bird with distinctive buff-coloured marking that winters in the plains territory from Nebraska south to Texas, and congregates en Masse in Illinois before migrating north to the treeline in Canada.If the birds are spotted here repeatedly over a period of time, they could attract birders from further afield, Pratt said.

  “Despite thousands of birders birding Pelee every year for a hundred years or more, they’ve never had one before in the county here,” said Pratt.

• Wild Bird Development Suppressed by Urban River Pollutants (medindia.net)
  Findings published today in the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry journal reveal that chicks of the Eurasian Dipper – a river bird that feeds exclusively on insects and fish in upland streams – are underweight compared to their rural counterparts. Also of concern is that birds nesting in urban rivers have altered hormone levels, and are hatching fewer female chicks than those nesting along rural rivers, which could have negative implications for the population’s breeding and survival.Data obtained by a team of scientists from Cardiff University, working in collaboration with the Universities of Saskatchewan and Exeter, and the Natural Environment Research Council, suggest that urban contaminants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PBDE flame-retardant chemicals (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) acquired through their food are to blame. Results showed a strong correlation between contamination by PBDEs and PCBs with depressed thyroid hormone levels in chicks – one thyroid hormone was 43% lower in chicks from urban rivers than those rural rivers.
• Erich Hoyt and the Orca Tour; the endangered song: The Animal Beat (oregonlive.com)
  Sad news comes this month from Ecuador, where a young Andean condor released to the wild last summer was found shot dead. The bird had been equipped with a satellite transmitter, which allowed researchers the rare opportunity to track flight patterns and previously unknown roosting sites, according to The Peregrine Fund, a Boise conservation group. The bird, known as Felipe, was the fourth Andean condor shot and killed in Ecuador in the last 18 months. Andean condors, a critically endangered species in Eucuador, are that country’s national bird. Federal authorities are investigating.

Birds, Birds Everywhere

You may Look Who Came to Call on the Hummingbirds Today!, or even try to look the birds in the eye.

Cindy Barton Knoke, who can not resist taking pics of Hummingbirds,has good reasons to think birds understand more about us than we do about them. When you look at her photographs several of those animals seem to look at the world with compassion and understanding how foolish human beings can be. Many of those birds and other animals seem to have us figured out.

Many birds may be curious and willing to conquer their fear. Corvids like ravens, crows and magpies, may remember the faces of people who do bad things to them for years.

Cindy Barton Knoke writes:

Most wild birds must be quite accustomed to a human before they will let you get anywhere near them. Smart birds. Starlings like this Superb Starling are capable of understanding grammatical rules and are being studied by linguists because their vocal recognition abilities surpass those of Tamarin monkeys. {Look Me in the Eye: Birds~}

Acorn Woodpecker – Photography: Cindy Knoke

You can not say man of fine looks and attitudes ‘flock together’ but the eye of the (probably) patient photographer shows us that birds of fine feather flock together!The writer of the blog Cindy Knoke tells us also that the San Diego Zoo houses the largest collection of bird species in the United States and manages there to take more than one a picture-taking paradise!
Today she also seems to have enough spare time to make some nice trips where she can play with the photographic lens and can capture the incredibly rich in wild bird life.
She admits to be no expert on bird identification, but for sure I find she has a good eye for them and also a good relation with creation.

She also remembers us that Hummingbirds were revered in many native cultures.

In Peru the Aztecs carved a Hummingbird figure in stone visible from the foothills.
They believed that Hummingbirds spread life, which is certainly true, as they are major cross pollinators. Their God of the Sun and War was called Hitziloppchti {Huitzilopochtli (Aztec god)} and he was known as The Hummingbird Wizard. {I Can’t Resist Taking Pics of Hummingbirds!}

What is also interesting is to see the many colours the birds have and see how they are reflected in other things in nature and in creations made by man or even more interesting by fossilization in nature itself: Ancient Creatures & Living Jewels~

One can look at those beautiful prints made by the ‘pressure of time’, but one shall not be able to capture the essence of objects.

Lots of human beings could learn from the smart birds and other animals the Creator has provided. People should also come to understand that when they do not see how to cope any more in this life, they would do better to look at the birds and to go out in the wide and wild nature, to let themselves be carried away by the colours and the movement of the other creatures than human beings. We can learn so much from them, but they also are also able to give us so much, even when we do not give them anything.

Next day you go out in the fields, have a better look and try to find the hidden birds as well. Enjoy Natures Jewels!

And let us at the same time remember, that of nature we do know very little. And the more we learn, the more we know how little we know!!

***

Headshot of a Victoria Crowned Pigeon, taken in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Birds, birds everywhere,
flying through the sky without care.
Reminding us how graceful life can be,
as they fly from tree to tree.
Singing so very happily.

 – Suzae Chevalier = Suzanna Christina Chevalier
(Born Suzanna Christina Chevalier on April 18,1966 in Elizabeth New Jersey. Suzae always loved to write poems as a child. Writing poetry in the dark late at night. Now as an adult she has published 5 children picture books under name Sue Chevalier, but soon to be released under Suzae Chevalier. Her children’s picture books rhyme as well. Find her children poetry at http://www.puppetpoems.com and wwww.puppetpoets.com as well as http://www.suechevalier.com http://www.purplepoems.com and http://www.razelrhymes.com. She has another poetry alias that is more popular for it has more realistic poems about life on the planet-the alias is Christina Sunrise and visit her website http://www.christinasunrise.com and on poemhunter as well. )

Female House Sparrow, Bairnsdale Australia. Taken in September 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

***

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Preceding articles:

God’s wisdom for the believer brings peace

The Blues Can Make You…….Happy!

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Please find also:

1. Beeps, Cheeps & A Chuckle for Your Friday!
2. Don’t Ever Go With Your Husband to the Barber Shop!
3. Okay, Okay. IF I Post Any More Hummingbirds, I’ll Facilitate and Attend My Own Therapy Group for People Who Compulsively Photograph Hummingbirds!
   (For anyone who reads this and does struggle with compulsive issues, laughter is one of the best healers. Have a good laugh and please know you are far from alone. Compulsive difficulties can be very successfully treated. I recommend you look for a therapist with expertise in this area and a good sense of humor!)
4. Some Wild Birds Around the World!
5. The Migration is on at The Holler!
6. Have You Ever Been Stared at by a Hummingbird?
7. Humingbirds Visiting The Holler Today!
8. The Baby Hummer Who Crashed Into Glass!
9. La Lengua del Colibrí
   Although hummingbirds are at The Holler year round, the spring migration brings greater numbers of hummers to The Holler.
10. Holler Birds Put On Their Holiday Coats for You!
11. Feathered Tuesday:Holler Hummingbirds, Hawks, Golden Eagles (and sweet little finch!)
12. Hummingbirds, Snapdragons & Tigertails!
13. The Hummingbirds are Becoming Tame!
14. The Holler Birds Said Welcome Home!
15. Rural Resident Overfeeds Wild Birds!
16. Eagle Owl!
17. Anza Avian Refuge!
18. Hawk Headed Parrot!
19. Red Shoulders and Red Tails!
20. Hanging Out with the Hawks Pt I (of III): Red Tails
21. Hanging Out with the Hawks: Pt. II (of III) The Harris Hawks!
22. The Birds of Patagonia! Wow!
23. Patagonian Birds!
24. The Birds Prepare for Shelter as the Moon Rises, Late in the Patagonian Night!
25. The Glorious Birds of Australia!
26. Pelis-Can Do…..
27. Hhh! (Last Post on Topic for Awhile)

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Further reading:

1. What is life?
2. Taking care of mother earth
3. Searching for fulfillment and meaning through own efforts, facing unsatisfaction and depression
4. Spring Time Is Coming
5. Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees

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  +
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  +
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Spring Time Is Coming

Spring Copse with Rookery Spring Copse has a rookery, lots of nests with birds coming and going. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Beautiful Spring is coming,
Ah, yes, will soon be here,
For the clear bright sun is shining
All human hearts to cheer.
One the brightest gems of nature
Is the orb that o’er us shines,
And o’er the wide creation,
It’ll shine to the end of time.

The birds will soon be singing
On shrub and bough of trees,
Their notes will soon be ringing
Out, forth so merrily.
They love the merry spring time,
Those little birds we love,
They love the pleasant sunshine
That comes down from above.

We can hear them sweetly singing
From early morn, till night.
They make music in the woodland
Those little birds; so bright,
We should dearly love them,
Those little harmless things,
And when we hear their music,
We know that it is spring.

Ah; it’s pleasant in the springtime,
All nature seems so gay.
Bright flowers in the sunshine,
Sweet fragrance can display.
The hills, and dales, and meadows,
So beautifully covered o’er;
With natures richest verdure,
The green grass, as of yore.

The winter will soon be over,
With its cold and chilly winds.
It is sad and dreary ever,
Yet its dying, free from sin.
Now the springtime is coming,
Ah, yes, will soon be here.
We will welcome in its coming
In this glad new year.

– Julia A Moore (1847-1920 / United States)

She inspired Mark Twain to create the character of Emmeline Grangerford in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Grangerford’s funereal ode to Stephen Dowling Botts.

Cover via Amazon

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  +
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