Ring-necked Duck
April 10, 2011 By 3 Comments
We spotted a pair of these the other day on the little lake in the middle of the village. A Ring-necked Duck — first time I’ve ever spotted one.
The Birds, our Teachers
December 22, 2010 By 2 Comments
It’s the time of the year here in Chicagoland when bird variety is diminished. On and around our feeders were see chickadees and goldfinches and cardinals, and on the ground we see those sharply colored northern juncos. Sparrows, of course. But not much else.
As I was observing their busy ways in the cold of winter this morning I thought of John Stott’s book, one that many may not even know about, called The Birds Our Teachers: Biblical Lessons from a Lifelong Bird Watcher . It’s a good book and comes from the life of a lifelong birder. Stott is always expositional, but in this one he’s expositional about a theme that captured another area of his life: birds.
Stott was also a bird photographer and the book is filled with his own pictures.
Kris and I became birdwatchers on one weekend we spent with her grandmother in northern Wisconsin. She recognized every bird, some of which were exotic for us (crossbills and grosbeaks), but also had a story to tell about each.
We bought Roger Tory Peterson’s book (Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Sixth Edition ), still have it, and we’ve never looked back. It’s rare that we now see a bird we don’t recognize (except for the migrating warblers), and it’s been an enjoyable hobby for each of us.
Thanks John.
Another blue bird in our backyard (not a parakeet)
May 11, 2010 By 8 Comments
We just spotted this Indigo Bunting at our feeder.
Spring Birding
April 20, 2008 By 9 Comments
We’ve seen some old (bird) friends, some new ones … we’ve seen lots of birds this Spring: |inline
A Father, a Son, and some doubt: Day 2
March 12, 2008 By 10 Comments
We had a great empathizing and praying for a father; so many good responses. And “Dad’s” response yesterday showed what a blog community can do for folks. Here is the response I wrote to him, now just a little fleshed out than the note I sent to him last week. By the way, Ken White’s pastorally insightful comment was special for all of us to see as the father wrote in and said, “Yep, he’s just like me.” |inline
Hummer
September 28, 2007 By 3 Comments
Here’s one of the little female hummingbirds that visit our feeders throughout the day. When the days are cooler, they aren’t around much; on warmer days they visit us all day long. Some of their aerial combats have been awesome. |inline
Birding
August 29, 2007 By 7 Comments
Monday morning early, with the sun high on a tall, tall pine tree in a neighbor’s yard and I, sitting on my back porch sipping a cup of coffee, saw six Cooper’s hawks at the top of the tree. I had never seen six Coopers at once. But there they were mapping out their food for their day and apportioning space. |inline
Follow Patheos
Evangelical: