

No Small Kindnesses
It is like a mustard seed which people plant in the soil: it is the smallest of all the earth’s seeds, yet once it is sown, it springs up to become the largest of shrubs, with branches big enough for the birds of the sky to build nests in its shade.~ Mark 4: 31-32 The American war on weeds went nuclear with the invention of DDT. Unfortunately there was significant avian collateral damage. Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons nearly didn’t make it. Thankfully, we set ou


Imprinting
“Who is my mother? Who is my family?” And looking around at everyone there, Jesus said, “This is my family! Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my sister, my brother, my mother.” ~Mark 3:33-35 If you are familiar with the classic children’s book, “Are You My Mother?” then you might have the wrong idea about nestling birds. Yes, they do immediately look for their parents when they hatch (well more like “sense” for those birds born blind). But they don’t search unti


Ancient Wisdom
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.”~ Mark 2:27 Red Z333 appears to be taking a year off from mothering. At more than 70 years old, that may sound like an obviously good idea, but when you are a Laysan Albatross, who has laid at least 30 eggs in your lifetime, raising a chick nearly every year since 2006, it might be called wisdom. In fact, this bird, the oldest known wild bird in the world, is named Wisdom. She has been seen


God of Rainbows
I have much more to tell you, but you can’t bear to hear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, she will guide you into all truth. ~ John 16:12 From House Sparrows to Ostriches, homosexual behavior has been observed in a variety of bird species. In the entire natural world, courtship and breeding activities and behavior between partners of the same sex has been recorded in more than 500 species. There are also examples of transgender animals. The visual is striking in bird s


Fast as the Slowest Bird
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. ~ Acts 2:1-4 When a large gathering of shorebirds take off suddenly as