Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
A few days ago, as I was working in my office, I kept hearing a small thud out in the living room. I went out to check on the dog to see if he might have been the culprit causing the noise, but he was fast asleep on the couch. I looked around to see if something had fallen off a shelf, and suddenly heard the thud again. It was the window. A small (U.F.O. – since it was still an “unidentified flying object”) was banging into the window. It came back for another thud, and that’s when I identified it as a small bird, later to be fully identified as a Western Flycatcher (previously known as the Pacific-slope Flycatcher). Not the greatest photo image, but it’s what I could manage through the glass (and between thumping to the window). I recognized it from two years ago, when it had a made nest under our garage eave. This time it was more interested in the window, vs. tending to a nest.
With the power of technology and little web searching, I now understand that this type of behavior from a bird is due to them attempting to defend their territory, after seeing their own reflection on the glass — thinking it’s another bird that needs to move to another location. In fact, the biggest reason for defending the territory is for breeding purposes. You see, this bird comes up to the Pacific NW (or even up into Alaska) to breed, during the warmer months. When it starts to get a bit colder (September/October) it will start a journey to warmer locations. According to Wiki (and a few other bird related sites) these birds can travel all the way to southern Mexico for the winter. The mileage during their migration is somewhere between 1,500-2,500. Crazy! I think I would get tired flying in an airplane for that distance, let alone flapping my little wings all that way.
That level of migration is nothing short of a miracle. Speaking of miracles, our Creator is the source of those very miracles AND is the designer of our feathery friends as well. I must believe these particular creations are special as the word “bird” is referenced over 120 times, in the NIV, and that doesn’t count the times they are called by name – raven, eagle, sparrow, etc.
Luke 12: 6 & 7:
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
In the case of this little Western Flycatcher, and the wing flaps it puts into their migration process, it’s very clear God cares about them tremendously. Yet, in verse 7, Jesus speaks of how much more important WE are than many sparrows (or Flycatchers). This is a great lesson to never doubt the love God has for each of us. We should never doubt how far He will go to protect and guide us, on our migration journey through life. All we need to do is, stop and ask for directions, God will provide the rest. Amen.