The Birds
Open your ears and open your eyes
Many of you will know James. He often takes photographs, many of which appear in the parish magazine. He does us all a great favour by offering his immense skills in a quiet and dignified way.
Recently he posted two pictures of birds he captured at Castleroe. (I include them here: thank you, James.) I had never seen these birds at Castleroe, but, through the photographs, I have now. They were called a tree creeper and a great spotted woodpecker. How many times have you or I walked through the forest at Castleroe and neither listened to nor observed the wild birds at play?
A few weeks ago I reconnected with a friend from school days and spotted a huge camera lens on his table. It didn’t take long to realise that here was another “twitcher”, as they are known, and he too loved to spend time in remote and built-up places taking photos of birds. He showed me a little app for the phone where the phone can listen to and identify the birds singing and calling in the area.
Next time I walked at Bishops Gate I tried the app and discovered those bird noises were six different species of birds. I couldn’t see them but it made me go back a few days later with my camera and try to snap a few. (We will say nothing here about my lack of success, please).
If you are (still) fortunate enough to have good hearing, and you didn’t destroy it with overly loud music in earlier years, then can I encourage you to get up early and listen to the dawn chorus?
– When walking on a quiet day listen to (and try to identify) the birds in next-door’s hedge.
– When standing by the sea shore count the different types of birdlife on the shoreline.
– At the sea-side you cannot easily hear their call, but a little book or an ap, or even better, a knowledgable friend, can help guide you to the rich variety of God’s creation.
When you see and hear these creatures, look up beyond the trees and the skies and pause: thank God our heavenly Father who has arrayed the world around us with such beautiful sounds and glorious images, and tell someone you meet of the joy you felt in God’s creation today. A quiet witness from a joyful heart.