ponder

Beautiful Government; or Cow Slobber

Posted on Monday, 17 June 2013 by The Birding Bunch

2 Peter 2:
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
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One bad thing about writing posts ahead is you sometimes have to go back to make an edit or two because what you wrote is no longer true.  This is one such case.   When I originally wrote this, I bemoaned the fact that only the Swamp Milkweed came back of all the natives we put in one spot.  Our Cow Slobber was nowhere to be seen.  Nor have we seen any Hibiscus.  For the Milkweed to come back was pretty amazing, though, since they all were covered in Oleander Aphids last summer.  They were all over Common Milkweed, too.

Today (16 June), I was greeted with a surprise when I went to the south yard to replace an orange half.  I saw bits of purple-ish blue in our native patch.  And you guessed it.  Our Cow Slobber has bloomed!!  This photo is not our Cow Slobber, but some over at Neal Smith.

Cow Slobber AKA Ohio Spiderwort

The more we enjoy birds, the more we appreciate any effort in bringing back what has been lost due to man’s actions.  In this case, it is our government.  We are aware of restorations at all levels-local up to federal.

Most recently, we’ve visited the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge which has over 8,600 acres. Much of this is restored prairie using plantings native to Iowa.   It is a beautiful and amazing place.  Some day, I hope we can go there as a family so we can take our time.  For some reason, this last field trip seemed rushed.

The Prairie Learning Center is wildlife friendly allowing for the nesting of Cliff and Barn Swallows on its building.  Many businesses and residential areas discourage such activity, not aware that these birds are great bug control agents.  They just cannot overlook a little poop and mud.   But what a glorious sculpture of mud it is!

Cliff Swallow in a nest.

Protecting and restoring habitat should never be a political issue.   It is an issue of doing the right thing.  In cases like this I can be grateful for President Bill Clinton, who signed an executive order to bring native grasses and flowers to our roadsides.  This is to try and replace all the brome grass that was planted earlier.

Categories: di blumma, di fekkel, ponder

Ignorance

Posted on Tuesday, 11 June 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Romans 10:
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
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As I have been going through old photo files on the computer, I laugh at all the bird images titled, “bird.jpg”.  Some of these were taken back in Omaha, but several were taken here in Iowa the first couple of years after we moved.  Until we became interested in them, all we knew was birds flew, built nests, ate and pooped.  That is it.  We just did not think about them.  We were pretty ignorant as you will see how others are, as well.

Sometimes it is harmless, such as this fun blog entry I had found when I was looking up info about gulls.  I could have written a similar thing years ago.  She was not aware of migration patterns, the wide variety of foods gulls eat, or something nicknamed a “Prairie Gull” that nests in the Northern Great Plains.  Oh and the fact, there is no such thing as a Seagull!  :)

Other times, it is not so harmless.  This blog entry is full of misleading information that is a detriment to the birds.  She believes a bird broke the ceiling fan blade on her porch and spent much of her time ranting about birds.  Her post is based on circumstantial evidence and I cannot imagine an impartial judge convicting these birds, if they could be put to trial.  :)

Personally, I believe the biggest clue is in her early statement of hearing a crash while the movers were bringing in couches.   The birds did not arrive until a few days later.  She did not say what doors people were coming in and out of, but usually during a move, there is activity at all the doors into a house.  So possibly movers were on her porch and no bird would try building a nest among human activity they are not accustomed to.

Later I was thinking, can it be possible for a bird to do this?  NO.  Narrowing it down to birds that use feathers for nesting materials and would go up into rafters, there are very few choices in North America.  House Sparrows,  Swallows and maybe Wrens.   The largest of these is one ounce.  This is the maximum weight of mail with a 46¢ stamp (US) on it.   Unless there was already damage to the one fan blade,  a bird could not do this thing.

It is fine that people are ignorant about birds.  There are plenty of things I am ignorant about.  But it is a sad thing in this day of instant communication when people’s views can foster damaging attitudes towards creation that already struggles because of our many actions done out of ignorance.

Categories: dangers to birds, ponder | Leave a comment

Easygoing

Posted on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 by The Birding Bunch

This one word probably best describes  the Black-capped Chickadee’s behaviour at the feeders.  Never has it fought for food, or for personal space. It never scares off other birds by its grand entrance.  It patiently waits its turn when there is a crowd.  If the feeding frenzy is too crazy, it will come back at another time.

During breeding season, it will claim its nesting territory, but this winter and spring there have been no signs of combative behaviour.   While the other birds fight their minor battles,  it is a joy to see such a calm personality at the feeders.

This morning (19 April), while tending the feeding area,  I heard an interesting duet above the mix of other birds- a Song Sparrow and B-c Chickadee both singing their songs.  The timing of each one created a beautiful harmony.
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Romans 14:
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Note:  This is interesting.  Just as I finished writing this post, I remembered that I read something similar quite some time ago.  After a bit of thinking, I was able to locate it again. “If We Were All More Like Chickadees“  Now that we have been able to observe this bird for a little while now, we can clearly see how it is more of a peacemaker-type rather than an aggressor.  Something we as followers of Christ should seek to become.

Categories: bird facts, God's truth, ponder

YAY! We Had Snow!

Posted on Monday, 10 December 2012 by The Birding Bunch

Isaiah 1:
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
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This was taken Sunday morning. The snow began as we were coming home Saturday evening from a day trip we made further east. What a thrill it was to see after so long.

To the disappointment of little children, much of the snow melted before we could get home from church. A strong wind dropped temperatures dramatically, but not before most of the snow was gone. I was thrilled for the moisture and to see the pretty flakes falling once more.

Recently, we’ve been noticing a lot of trash in the fields.  The snow covered it all up, making everything look so pure. This was a temporary cover-up, unlike the permanent change the Lord can make for any sinner who comes to Him for repentance.

Categories: non-birds, ponder

It’s that Season Again

Posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012 by The Birding Bunch

Proverbs 12:
10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

SOAR 
Scroll down a smidge to the photo and click on it.

And sadly, this has no season…
D14 Announcement

If you are unawares, D14 is the third eagle hatched from this year’s Decorah Bald Eagle nest.  D12, the first eagle hatched, met a similar fate in July. 

Both of these are deaths because of something humans have done.  Thankfully, with education, time and resources these things can be changed, if people are willing. 

Now thinking closer to home, how are our actions directly harming the birds?   I will leave this up to you rather than me listing all I am aware of.  You may have gleaned some from past posts, but other things are just plain common sense.  Are you willing?

Categories: anti-hunting, dangers to birds, ponder

Strong Ring-necked Opinion

Posted on Monday, 15 October 2012 by The Birding Bunch

(KJV) Hosea 4:
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
(NAS)* Hosea 4:
2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea disappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

pheasants
It seems a great concern of Midwest birders the declining populations of Ring-necked Pheasants.  Maybe this is a concern nation-wide??

I am sure this will come across as harsh, but I have to ask…

Why?

I have no problem with this beautiful bird whatsoever, the problem lies elsewhere.

Like the house sparrow, it is an introduced species and if I understand this correctly, it was merely introduced to our continent for sport.  Every year, “farms” raise the birds just to be released for the pleasure of hunters.   To me, this is very distasteful and cruel. I would rather the bird be allowed to become extinct in North America.

When discussing in a forum about putting native grasses in our pasture, someone brought up that some pheasant organization might pay half for the seed if we allowed hunting on our property. I wouldn’t feel right about creating the habitat for that activity. Those Pheasants could move on to became some hunters’ showpieces. Poultry is readily found in the store. I have met only a couple hunters who truly had a need for the meat they hunted.

While letting this post sit in drafts awhile, I came across something these farms do…
Strange Pheasant
They do not remove these eye shields before releasing which makes an additional hazard for these birds. Though the Pheasants cannot see forward as we do, they can see peripherally what would be in front of them. These blinders are in the way!

*Normally I use only the King James version of the Bible, but in this case, I thought the New American Standard was a little more clear in today’s language.

Categories: anti-hunting, bird facts, dangers to birds, di fekkel, ponder, sadness | 19 Comments

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