Tag Archives: birds

God in all things, Photography, Travel

Testify

This is a photo of a Paradise Tanager, taken at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. My reaction to seeing this bird was that it didn’t look real. It’s not so much the colors as the pattern (that seem unnatural). But I saw it moving and can testify it is real.

We are in the Easter Season, and daily readings are about the Apostles testifying to what they saw and heard as unbelievable as it seemed. John writes “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life— for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us.” ‭‭(1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬)

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Bizarre

This photo of cormorants sitting in a tree was taken at the Florida Everglades. These birds eat small to medium sized fish which they catch by swimming under the surface of the water. They are amazing swimmers; under water they propel themselves with their feet with help from their wings; some have been found to dive as deep as 150 ft.

Both cormorants and anhingas (another underwater swimmer) can be seen drying their wings out in the sun because their feathers get waterlogged and make it difficult to fly. I remember the first time I saw a bird (probably an anhinga) sitting in a tree with its wings outstretched. It struck me as almost bizarre, because I did not know it why it was doing so.

The same thing happen with human behavior. We view the actions of others as bizarre or inappropriate. Often we don’t know a thing about them or their background.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Coincidence?

‭I saw this bird at almost exactly the same spot that I saw two eagles along the beach at Kiawah last year. Coincidence? Probably not.

I’m guessing this is a heron (I don’t pretend to be very knowledgeable about birds). Not really sure what herons and eagles have in common, other than being birds that you can find on the Atlantic Coast.

Our minds seems to work like that, always looking for an association. And it’s natural to assume cause and effect when we do observe an association. Scriptures are full of references to a beautiful and complex world pointing to a Creator. The ultimate cause.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Questions

We spent a week at the beach at the end of March. I enjoy running or walking along the beach and I try to always carry my phone with me because you never know when you will see something like this.

I was fascinated by the way these birds were lining up facing the wind. It makes me think “what do they know?” It certainly didn’t seem random; I saw other groups of this same bird doing the same thing. Instinct? What does “instinct” even mean?

I ask a lot of questions than I can find not find the answers for. And I think that is a good thing.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Timing

This photo was taken at the Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks, Alaska. There were several birds on this small lake. It didn’t take too long to get a photo of one flying just above the water surface.

We also saw several sandhill cranes wandering around the fields. We heard that we missed the primary migration by a few weeks, when thousands of the sandhill cranes gather in the fields.

There is a rhythm to life. God’s timing is perfect.

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Food

My wife and I were out biking on Kiawah Island when we passed by this area with all these birds. I can’t help but wonder why they were all gathered at that particular moment in time. I assume it has something to do with food. Toss a few crackers on the beach and in no time you’ll have more birds swarming around you than you can count.

I’m not sure human behavior is dramatically different- food can have a similar effect. In the Gospel, Jesus feeds the multitudes. The people pursue him because they “ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus tells them (and us) there is something far greater to seek (John 6:23-27).

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery, Travel

Taking Flight

This photo was taken at Kiawah Island, during a morning bike ride on the beach. I saw these birds from a distance and assumed (hoped) they would take flight as I approached. For me, there is something mesmerizing about watching birds fly just above the water. I think it is in part because it seems so effortless.

There is something special about watching something (or someone) doing what they were created to do.

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God in all things, Photography, Prayer, Scenery, Travel

Delight in Surprises

This photo was taken on Kiawah Island, near the northern end of the beach. I was surprised to see eagles because I couldn’t remember ever seeing them at Kiawah in the past. Plus, I was out biking and just happened to look over to the dune and see them standing there not too far away.

As I read about the distribution of bald eagles in the US, I was surprised to find out that they are year round residents of the Atlantic Coast. We recently returned from Alaska, another place the bald eagle resides year round. So I shouldn’t have been surprised (but I was) when I saw two on the beach near downtown Anchorage.

What makes for a surprise? The unexpected, of course but what separates the expected from the unexpected? We are surrounded by God’s gifts, how many do we take “for granted” and how many do we truly delight in?

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God in all things, Photography, Scenery

Standing Out

This is the photo that I took in May in the Twin Creek Park near Germantown. It may not be obvious, but there is a duck just to the right of center. The duck almost blends in except for its bright green head.

There are times that each of us would like to blend into our surroundings. But remember that God has given each of us a gift and we are to be a light on a stand, a city on a hill. Or even a duck on the water.

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