Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Special it was; special enough to draw the attention of birders across the United States to a rocky beach on the outskirts of Seattle. It’s not that Puget Sound does not have an abundance of gulls clad in the traditional black, white, and gray typical of their kind, but this one was different. Most notably, its large eyes were surrounded by bright fleshy rims and the black beak was tipped with gray with a white patch at its base. And even though not obvious while the bird was resting, it was the only gull species to sport a distinctively forked tail. All of these features put together made it into a Swallow-tailed Gull, an unlikely wanderer from the Galapagos Islands.
But as to what made it really special to me, one must go beyond these distinctive physical features into the realm of the subjective, the experiential. Should I have been fortunate enough to see one of these attractive gulls in the Galapagos Islands where it is nearly endemic, I would have been impressed. But to find one locally was almost beyond belief! As with all birders who keep a life list, there is a law of diminishing returns. To reach the 700 number which I am now approaching, I find I have to go to increasingly remote and out-of-the-way places in North America. But finding one in my own backyard was almost beyond belief; a gift indeed. Even the unanswered question as to why the world’s only nocturnally feeding gull should elect to travel 3,800 miles to rest on my shores does nothing to diminish its value, in fact it may actually elevate the value we place upon it.
It’s obvious that we do not all place the same value upon things. We remember the story found in 1 Kings 21 involving a corrupt king and his selfish actions. “Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.’” 1 Kings 21:2 NIV) It may seem like Ahab was willing to pay fair market value for the property, but it’s equally clear that Naboth, for whatever reason, placed greater worth upon his personal holdings. In the end, the king killed Naboth to get what he wanted. Constrast that with Mary, who sitting at Jesus’ feet , received His blessing for having her priorities straight: “There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it—and I won’t take it away from her!” (Luke 10:42 Living Bible) Scarcity, even among rare birds, may cause us to place a higher estimate of worth upon some objects, but let’s make sure we don’t underestimate the value of His sacrifice, just because it’s offered to all.