2 Corinthians 4:
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
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This is the time of year we’ve been waiting for… when the leaves begin to fall off the trees. There was something specific we were hoping to find. What a thrill to discover this treasure as close to our abode as it was. We had no idea…
Baltimore Oriole’s nest
We saw the adults here quite frequently, but any time they flew after filling their bellies with oranges and jelly, they went north. We suspected they nested at the neighbor’s because of this and our north tree line is kind of small yet. The tree they used is on the south side of the house and hangs over a portion of the fenced-in area for the dog. We can now see the nest clearly from the upstairs windows, but when the trees were full this was obscured from prying eyes.
And do you know what is really neat… some of the nesting material used for this was my hair! I saved it from my brush and crammed a suet cage full of it.
We also had Orchard Orioles nesting on our property, but based on where the young’ns were seen, their tree of choice was back by the grain bins.
The Orioles have long made their way south for the winter, so it was a treat to discover a portion of their lives left behind. God made their diet to include insects and fruit, so as much as we’d enjoy them, Orioles would not fare well here in the winter.
I will not be able to post for several days, so I thought to help you stay occupied. : ) Here are a few links that I find of interest.
A ROCHA- Christian conservation. Yes, such a thing exists and if you peruse their blog, you will see some good thoughts about taking care of the poor and the planet.
Dandy Designs- Gallery of God’s handiwork
ABC- American Bird Conservancy
SOAR- Saving Our Avian Resources
Oh a little boring blog news: If you were one who came by here without a WordPress account, you may have been greeted with unpleasant ads. As of a few days ago, this should no longer be an issue. If by chance you do see something questionable, please take a screenshot of it and contact me. I will need to work with the support staff to get this removed.
that was a great idea about putting hair in a suet cage. We have several plants of Mexican Hair Grass and the birds used them in Spring to build their nests.
Thank you for commenting. Last year, we had Baltimore Orioles stay for a couple weeks, then they disappeared. As we learned about them, we found out they like to use horse hair as a nesting material. About a mile from us are neighbors with horses, so I wondered if that is why they left. As an experiment, I saved my hair and was thrilled it caused the Orioles to stay here. We did have some spats with the birds because they didn’t want to share the oranges. They got over it.
I searched to see what the Mexican Hair grass looked like and that is pretty.
It’s so neat to see where birds nest when the leaves fall from the trees. In our backyard, they like to use dog hair after our dogs get brushed every week. I suppose it makes a nice, comfy bed.
Yes, it is. This by far is our most interesting bird nest we’ve seen. But I also like how tiny the Chipping sparrow nest is. We have a short haired dog that we’ve never bothered brushing, so no nesting material from him.
Thanks for the scripture and picture! What a blessing to be able to see their nest and that in a way, you’re a part of it. God’s creatures are so amazing. Thanks for the links, too.
I am excited because as I blogged we are moving near the end of this month and there are so many trees where we are going and I’m hoping we’ll see all kinds of species….orioles included….Diane
Thank you for coming by. It sounds like your new home will have plenty of birds to welcome you. Do you already have feeders to put up when you move in?
I have a couple but I know I will be getting more since there will be more birds than we’re used to getting where we are now….Diane