Creation Moments – Birds

Creation Moments has articles frequently about birds. I seem to get behind in checking my mail, so they sort of “pile up.” Today’s post is excerpts, with links to some of those posts.

Dueling Bird Songs

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - ©WikiC

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) – ©WikiC

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;…” Song of Solomon 2:12

“There is a lot more to bird song than meets the ear. Digital recording and computer technology have enabled researchers to study, in detail, various song-birds’ reactions to neighboring birds’ songs.

“In most species, singing is the male’s job. There is much more going on when he sings than simply establishing territory or attracting a mate. Researchers refer to one characteristic of bird song as “song matching.” While a male bird doesn’t like another male in his territory, he is more tolerant of a related male in a neighboring territory than of a complete stranger. A male will challenge a stranger by repeating the stranger’s song……”

Continued at Dueling Bird Songs


Hooded Crow. Warren Photographic

Are European Crows Evolving?

“And God created … every winged fowl after his kind…” Genesis 1:21

“A recent report on the Science Alert website discussed the evolution of two species of crow in Europe. The two species concerned are the carrion crow, which is black, and the grey-hooded crow. These crows are very different in appearance. They both populate continental Europe, with the grey-hoods in the East and the carrion crows in the West. Their boundary appears to be approximately where Germany’s Elbe River is. At this overlap point, it is possible for birds of the two species to interbreed. The hybrid birds are themselves fertile, which, while unusual for hybrids, is by no means unknown…..”

Continued at Are European Crows Evolving?


An Old Dead Bird And An Egg

Fossil-Avimaia Schweitzerae With Unlaid Egg ©WikiC

Fossil-Avimaia Schweitzerae With Unlaid Egg ©WikiC

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” Genesis 1:22

“I like to keep ducks because I love their eggs. Last summer, one of my ducks became ill, with eggs trapped inside her. Despite my best efforts, she died. Scientists believe the same thing may have happened to a specimen of Avimaia. This fossil, dated by evolutionists at 110 million years old, had evidence of an unlaid egg inside it.” ..

“These deep-time ages do not make sense in the light of the creatures’ appearances. For example, the fact that the avimaia fossil has this unlaid egg within it suggests that the process of egg laying has not changed for these birds, which even evolutionists are having to admit must have co-existed with the very type of dinosaurs which supposedly evolved into them……”

Continued at AN OLD DEAD BIRD AND AN EGG

You can find more of these type articles in the Interesting Things and When I Consider

Who Paints The Leaves?

Hoatzin Bird from Answers in Genesis

Hoatzin ( Opisthocomus hoazin) by Ian

Hoatzin Bird: Evidence Against Evolutionary Ideas from Answers in Genesis, by Harry F. Sanders, III

Answers in Genesis has a very interesting article about the Hoatzin Bird on line [. See Hoatzin Bird: Evidence Against Evolutionary Ideas, by Harry F. Sanders, III.

I would like to share a few quotes from the article, trusting that you will follow the link to read the full article. The Hoatzin is one of those birds that the evolutionist can’t figure out what to do with. It is not a typical bird that can be neatly tucked into a family or an order. Evolutionist try so hard to convince us that dinosaurs evolved into birds, that they are really puzzled about this unique Avian Wonder from Our Creator.

“Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.” (Psalms 148:5 KJV)

“The hoatzin is a very unique bird, something of a conglomeration of traits typical of birds, reptiles, and even mammals. As a bird, it shares characteristics typical of birds such as being warm-blooded, having feathers, and so on. It is roughly the size of a turkey, with a colorful, crested head and long tail feathers. However, its most interesting and unique features are distinctly un-birdlike.”

The Hoatzin history is traced through Africa mainly, and then found in France, Brazil, and Columbia. Yet, all they find is a single bone or two in each place, and come up with their conclusions.

Hoatzin(Opisthocomushoazin) by Kent Nickel

Hoatzin(Opisthocomushoazin) by Kent Nickel

“The enigmatic Opisthocomus (hoatzin) still cannot be confidently placed, but some putative sister relationships can be rejected.”10 The hoatzins unique traits and obvious discontinuity from other birds have completely impeded any evolutionary attempt to classify it. Evolutionary scientists have no explanation for the origin of the hoatzin, despite numerous attempts to create a phylogenetic tree that will fit them.”

One of the paragraph headings tells the whole story, at least as I see it. “Designed to Do What It Does Do” It eats leaves only, has a claw on wing when born, has a unique stomach and digestive system,

“Even ignoring the devastating blow hoatzin deals to Archaeopteryx as a transitional form, it causes evolutionists other significant problems, as evidenced by the trouble it gives to their cladistic models. They simply cannot determine what its ancestor was. However, if they would pause long enough to consider Genesis 1, they might recognize that hoatzin likely is its own created kind and thus its ancestor was a hoatzin.29

[Above quotes from the article Hoatzin Bird: Evidence Against Evolutionary Ideas]

Interesting Facts:

  • Hoatzin can reach 25 inches in length and 1.78 pounds of weight.
  • Hoatzin has a long neck, small head with reddish-brown crest, and blue facial skin with red eyes. Its body is covered with dark and light brown feathers combined with white and yellow feathers.
  • Hoatzin has a long tail composed of ten, loosely attached feathers.
  • Hoatzin is a clumsy bird. It spends most of the time near the water and on the branches of the surrounding trees.

From Wikipedia: “The hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), also known as the reptile birdskunk birdstinkbird, or Canje pheasant, is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South America. It is notable for having chicks that have claws on two of their wing digits.

It is the only member of the genus Opisthocomus (Ancient Greek: “long hair behind”, referring to its large crest). This is the only extant genus in the family Opisthocomidae. The taxonomic position of this family has been greatly debated by specialists, and is still far from clear.”

Hoatzin

Interesting Birds – Hoatzin

Hoatzin – The Stinker

Opisthocomidae – Hoatzin

The Wise Owl

Creation Moments – Evolution of Feathers

Evolution of Feathers

Genesis 1:22-23

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

One of the most obvious objections to the alleged evolution of birds from therapod dinosaurs is the evolution of feathers themselves. In order to change a therapod dinosaur, which would appear to have bare reptilian scales, into a bird with feathers, it is supposed that the scales must fray into pieces to make the distinguished feathery structure.

Many evolutionists have noticed the difficulty in suggesting so many changes, and it is partly for this reason that therapod dinosaurs themselves are often depicted covered with feathers. However, by doing this, evolutionists have merely moved the problem, and not solved it.

Part of the issue is that key parts of the feather have to be very exact in their construction in order to work. For example, the ‘hooks and eyes’ on the feathers (known as barbules and hamuli) must be exactly the right size to fit together. If they were a little short or a little long, then there would not be an  airtight fit for flight, or a watertight fit for waterfowl. The only response that evolutionists can have is that this exactness is not necessary for their feathered dinosaurs, so they are allowing that the evolution of exact barbules might be later than that of original feathers. But this explanation is weak and does not pass the Occam Razor test of simplicity, whereas the careful, accurate design of feathers, independent of scales, clearly does.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the beauty and simplicity, yet intricacy, that we see in the designs that You have made. We stand in awe and praise Your Name. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Bergman, J., The evolution of feathers: a major problem for Darwinism, Journal of Creation (formerly TJ) 17(1):33–41, April 2003. Image: Public Domain.

Copyright © 2020 Creation Moments, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Genesis 1:22-23 “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” O…

Source: Evolution of Feathers

ABC’s of the Gospel

Pigeon and Puppy – From Dodo

©The Dodo

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor [friendship]. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 NASB) [added emphasis]

©The Dodo

ABC’s of the Gospel

How Many Feathers? – Creation Moments

Tongtianlong Cropped ©WikiC

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25

 Today, we often see pictures of dinosaurs covered in feathers, which used to be represented with bare scales. Why has this change occurred? There is a preconceived notion, held by many evolutionists, that birds evolved from therapod dinosaurs, such as tyrannosaurus and the smaller raptor dinosaurs.

One such dinosaur reported in the media just a few years ago was Tongtianlong limosus. Apparently, its name means “muddy dragon on the road to heaven”. This sheep-sized dinosaur was discovered in China, and the fossil had an arched neck and raised head, as if it was trying to get free of something. Artists’ impressions of the creature show it covered with feathers, and reporters and researchers alike assume that this is correct. One scientific commentator said, “Modern birds came from dinosaurs … and it’s dinosaurs like Tongtianlong that give us a glimpse of what the ancestors of modern birds would have looked like. Fossils like these capture evolution in action.” Yet, this is simply not the case and appears to be an example of circular reasoning. The fossil shows no sign of feathers – not even the so-called dubious proto-feathers associated with other finds. It is simply the type of dinosaur that has caused it to be so classified by evolutionists, exercising more artistic license than is appropriate for serious scientific work.

In the Bible we read that God made birds on day five, and He made land animals on day six, so birds could not have evolved from dinosaurs.

Prayer: Lord God, You made everything right, in the way that You designed it, according to Your glory. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Robinson, P. (2016), Sorry, how many feathers did you find?, < https://creation.com/sorry-how-many-feathers-did-you-find >, accessed 5/1/2019. Image: CC BY-SA 4.0 International.

Used With Permission: © 2020 Creation Moments, Inc.


“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” Adolf Hitler

“If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” [Jesus’ Words] (John 3:12 NASB)

If people do not believe the things that the Lord said about His Creation, and continue to make up false theories, how will they ever believe the truth of Christ’s offer of salvation?

Will they prepare for heaven? God’s Word is true, yet many refuse to believe it. They would rather lie, than accept the truth. So sad. Maybe a good title for this article should have been,

“How Many Lies!”

Creation Moments – How Many Feathers?

Creation Moments

More Creation Moment articles here

ABC’s of the Gospel

Laughter From A Bird

Kookaburra Lowry Park Zoo 12-31-15 by Lee

Laughing Kookaburra Lowry Park Zoo 12-31-15 by Lee

A friend sent me a message with a Kookaburra video. and was wondering if this is a Kookaburra. In response, I reminded her of these previous articles here. We all need to laugh and let off some of our pent up boredom, fustration, idleness, loneliness, or just Need A Good Laugh for our soul’s Well-being.

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. (Proverbs 15:13 KJV)

Meet Merlin, from the Orlando Sea World:

Here are some more cool things about the Merlin the Kookaburra and other critters at Sea World:

Here are some of the articles from the past with these good-natured birds:

Kookaburra Encounter at Brevard Zoo – 2014

Birds Of The Bible – Joy And Laughter – 2013

From Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures Plus:

Kookaburra – Chattery Birds With A Merry Heart – 2010

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Laughing Kookaburra -2011

Kookaburra Encounter – 2014

Tickle Me Tuesday Revived – Laughing Kookaburras – 2019

Kingfishers And Kookaburras – From Creation Moments – 2020

Kookaburra at Brevard Zoo by Dan

Laughing Kookabura Brevard Zoo

Laughing Kookabura Brevard Zoo

Lee and Kookaburra at Brevard Zoo by Dan

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) at Cincinnati Zoo

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee

Have a great day, and may you keep a smile on your face and in your heart.

 

 

 

 

House Finch Variants

House Finch on Feeder by Lee

House Finch on Feeder by Lee

Do you know what a House Finch looks like? We have been fortunate to have several families of these Finches visit our bird feeders lately. It is always enjoyable to have these little birds come by for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In fact, these little flying avian wonders come by for snacks also. In other words, keep your eye on the feeders.

You can check out the Identification of House Finches as All About Birds – House Finch ID

When a Finch with a different color lands on your feeder, you get excited and question yourself, “What is this?” This happened lately, and caused me to look in the bird guides and search the internet bird sites, like All About Birds and others.

This eye opener landed on our feeder last week:

Varient House Finch on Feeder by Lee

Variant House Finch on Feeder by Lee

Varient House Finch on Feeder by Lee

Variant House Finch on Feeder by Lee

“He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens [or Finches] that cry.” (Psalms 147:9 NKJV)

Varient House Finch on Feeder by Lee

Variant House Finch on Feeder by Lee

What happened to this fellow? Apparently, diet or what the bird eats, affects its color. See this article, Orange or Yellow by All About Birds.

“Who provides food for the raven [or Finch], When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?” (Job 38:41 NKJV)

Keep your eyes open while bird watching. You never know what might show up! Stay Tuned!

The Salvation Story

Joy In Trials

Joyful Greenbul (Chlorocichla laetissima) ©WikiC

Our pastor had another encouraging message for our Wednesday night service. One day we will be able to attend a regular prayer meeting again, but, thankfully, our church is using YouTube and other means of keeping the Lord’s Word before us. This week was no exception.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:2-6 NKJV)


I trust you will enjoy Pastor Osborne’s message.

Joyful Greenbul (Chlorocichla laetissima) ©Flickr Dave Curtis

Wordless Woodpecker

 

 

He Is Risen!!

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28:6 NKJV)

Like many of you, we watched our Easter Services via YouTube, or you may have watched by however your church chose to keep your members encouraged through watching/meeting for this Easter. This “Social Distancing,” is keeping us from our normal services, handshakes, and hugs from our friends. I miss my many friends.

Our pastor had a great message for today, and thought I would share it with you. Faith Baptist Church of Winter Haven has a YouTube site with all the services and additions we are not able to attend in person. I am thankful for these and want to share two of them here. This first one is the Easter Service today with our pastor.

This next one is the “Pastor Jerry’s Musings” He is one of our associate pastors. Enjoy!

He is Risen! He Has Risen Indeed!

ABC’s of the Gospel

 

50 Bird Species Sounds

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) by Daves BirdingPix

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) by Daves BirdingPix

Thought you might enjoy learning about the sounds of 50 birds. This is from an email link I received. It looks like, but you will have to click the link to actually hear the sounds. Enjoy!! [Make sure you turn your sound up.]

You will be able to click any bird to hear the sounds they make! Click a second time to pause the sound. 

This is view of the what you will see:

2020-04-03 23_43_07-

American Goldfinch American Robin Asian Koel Atlantic Puffin Bald Eagle Barn Owl Barn Swallow Black-Capped Chickadee Blue Jay Canada Goose Canary (Common) Cardinal Common Wood Pigeon Crow (American) Cuckoo Eurasian Wren European Robin Flamingo (American) Horned Lark Horned Owl House Sparrow Hyacinth Macaw Indigo Bunting Laughing Kookaburra Loon (Common) Magellanic Penguin Mallard Duck Mourning Dove Nightingale (Common) Northern Flicker Northern Mockingbird Osprey Parakeet (Budgerigar) Peafowl (Common) Pileated Woodpecker Purple Martin Raven (Common) Red-Winged Blackbird Rock Dove Rooster Snipe (Common) Song Thrush Starling (Common) Swift (Common) Tern (Common) Tufted Titmouse Turkey (Wild) Veery Whooper Swan Wood Thrush

“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32 NKJV)

Wordless Birds

 

Free eBook About Birds and Photography

Diary of a Bird Photographer, Vol 2 by Ian Montgomery

Just received an email from Ian Montgomery, Ian’s Bird of the Week, who is offering free downloads of his three eBooks. This is only being offered for a short time.

Here is his email:

Given the strange times we live in now, I’m thinking of all the other people isolated at home and looking for things to do. I’ve decided to make all my eBooks free for the time being.
Two of these are Diary of a Bird Photographer, Volumes 1 and 2, which are compilations of the Bird of the Week/Moment from #1 to #341, and #342 to #585, respectively, i.e. from 2002 to 2009 and 2010 to 2018.
The third is guide Where to Find Birds in North-east Queensland. This is a guide to the more than 400 species of birds that occur in this region and the 200 or so locations in which to look for them, and there are about 700 bird photos, and 200 of locations.
All the books is comprehensively indexed so you can jump around all over the place. If your stuck at home, and even if you’re not, you can take a virtual bird tour of NE Queensland at zero cost in Where to Find Birds in North-east Queensland – much better than having to worry about to getting home after your trip. Maybe you could use it to teach your kids about the joys of bird watching.
Given the current pandemic, Ian has decided to give his ebooks free to anyone interested in nature. If you already now about ebook formats such as pdfs, epub and mobi, then go straight to the Birdway Store on the Payhip website where I’ve made the books available for download.
If you’re a bit vague about ebook formats, go first to the Quick Guide to eBooks, check it out to see which one is best or you and then got to the Birdway Store on the Payhip website which you can do from that page.
None of the books is copyright protected, so you can distribute them as you wish.
birdway_store_on_payhip_400_free.jpg
Happy reading and happy virtual travelling,
Stay safe,
Ian


Ian Montgomery,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: 0411 602 737 +61-411 602 737
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au

Recorder Society http://www.nqrs.org.au

Lee’s Addition:

I followed his links and was able to download all three ebooks.
Thanks, Ian, for giving us something to do while we are staying close/in our homes.
“Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?” (Job 38:36 NKJV)

Things To Do While Staying Home

Swallow-tailed Kite

Like many of you, we are staying home during this time of protecting ourselves from the Corvid-19 threat. So, what are we to do?

Here are a few suggestions to keep you learning, especially about our wonderful Avian Wonders, birds, that the Lord created. There are many things about the birds that we can be entertained by and educated from websites on the internet.

“And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:22 NKJV)

Of course, you can check out our sites:

Here are few other places to check out:

Pete Thayer is offering free birdwatching software for students. Hurry, as there is a limited number available. It is great. I use it myself. [This is from my email.]

March 2020
Birding Software For Kids 
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced thousands of schools across the country to close for weeks. What are your kids or grand-kids going to do with themselves?
We have an interesting suggestion. Let them explore over 1,000 birds of North America. Take over 700 fun quizzes about birds. Listen to bird songs in their area. Watch videos of bird behavior. Learn more about their favorite birds.

Thayer Birding Software has started a “Young Birder” Program. Our goal is to give away one million copies of our software to kids 18 and younger. This seems like the perfect week to help spread the word about this no-cost program.

We want kids to discover birding and the joys of nature at an early age. You can help by letting others know about this program. Forward this newsletter to your neighbors, relatives, local teachers, school administrators, Audubon clubs, Scout leaders and even kids in your neighborhood.

(Maybe this offer will even go “viral”)
It is very easy to download a copy

Then click the “Windows download” button

Now click the “Add Promo button”

type in ThayerYoungBirder

Visit our web site to find out more.
Our software will also work on older Mac operating systems such as Mac OS X 10.9 – MacOS 10.13. This includes High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite and Mavericks. If you have Mojave or Catalina click HERE for important information.
If you liked this free newsletter be sure to forward a copy to your friends so they can enjoy it too.
Pete Thayer and the Thayer Birding Software Newsletter Team9048 Whimbrel Watch Lane, Unit 202, Naples Florida 34109
E-mail us
]

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) by Dan (closeup)

The Avian Conservation Center is South Carolina has this:

To facilitate continued access to our educational programming during this time of social distancing and e-learning, we are implementing a temporary learning program, which will allow students to connect to our educational content remotely. In addition to live streaming presentations on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/scbirdsofprey,) we will also be adding educational videos to our YouTube (http://bit.ly/33rV0up) channel and other educational content will be posted on our website (www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org.) Although we are sad not to be able to see you in person, we are excited to have our community join us online!

Stay Tuned for more ideas!

Wordless Woodpecker