His Eye is on the Sparrow

His Eye Is on the Sparrow

Civilla D. Martin, 1905

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Female House Sparrow

Male House Sparrow Eating Crumbs

 

I’ll admit this post is a departure from my usual, but in looking through my photos of the past year, this one of all those house sparrows on a pile of brush stood out.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

It wasn’t because it’s a great photo, but because it reminded me of people. We tend to think of sparrows as common. After all, there are so many of them and they’re often found in ordinary places such as parking lots and brush piles. Sometimes, we feel just like that—common and lost in the crowd. God doesn’t think of us that way. To him, we’re special one-of-a-kind creations. For so many and for various reasons, the Holidays are a difficult time. This holiday season be encouraged, because God cares about you.

Curbside House Sparrow

King of the Dump

If you are birding in South Florida, you must go to the dump, Dump Marsh that is. Situated behind a massive landfill, dubbed Mt. Trashmore by local residents, are two marshes, an east and a west pond. On a good day, a sweet tropical wind blows from the ocean to the southeast, but should the wind shift to the north you’d better have a clothespin for your nose. Once you pass by waste management buildings and huge water processing tanks tucked behind barbed wire topped chain link fence you’ll discover a piece of Florida from time past.

Dump Marsh

Native plants, wildflowers, albeit with some exotics, surround the marsh boundaries.

Cattails rustle with redwing blackbirds and a variety of visiting warblers frequent the bushes. Just look around and you will probably spot a red-shouldered hawk, osprey, or even a bald eagle. If the water level is low enough, shorebirds ply the shallows. As dusk nears, herons, egrets, and ibis fly in to roost in the surrounding trees and bushes. Have you ever heard the velvet rush of dozens of wings wash over you? It is a memorable brush of peace. Oh yes, an alligator even cruises the wetland much to the peril of moorhens, coots, and ducks.

White Ibis Flock in Flight

Recently, a visitor from afar spotted the marsh and decided to stay awhile.

Staking Claim

Local birders were delighted and soon word spread, bringing like-minded enthusiasts from all over the state. The guest, a tropical kingbird from southeastern Arizona, had wandered quite a distance from its usual south-of-the-border wintering grounds. A large flycatcher with a bit of a superiority complex, it found an abundant supply of dragonflies among other insects and decided to stay. Immediately the tropical kingbird established territory and took up reign atop the area’s barbed wire fences and electric wires.

Insect Recon

Success!

King of the Dump

Fortunately, for birders bearing long lenses, it quite cooperatively posed on barbed wire between forays for tasty insects and obligatory territorial challenges to loggerhead shrikes and a lone western kingbird.

If you visit South Florida, do not forget the dump. You never know, you might meet the King.

Satiated King

Heron the Great

Great Blue Coming at You

No wonder the largest of North American herons received the honorable title of Great Blue Heron. Their wingspan can extend up to seven feet and their height four feet (that of an average seven-year old girl). Just watch them fly and the powerful whosh whosh pumping of their magnificent wings will leave you in awe. Surprise one and their voiced krrak will startle you!

Great Blue Heron at J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Solitary hunters patiently standing by lake or stream, their elegance commands your admiration. Dressed in blue-gray plumage with accents of brown, white, and black their plumed head, neck and back speak of gatherings in high places. Breeding season calls them to unite in treetop colonies.

Great Blue Heron on the Prowl

Great Blue Heron Keeping Warm on a Cold Day

Hunter and hunted, only a little more than thirty percent of their young survive ascent to adulthood. From egg to adulthood, they are prey to raccoons, bears, eagles, hawks, turkey vultures, and even crows. Sensitive to environmental change, they adapt by finding new aquatic territories in which to pursue a variety of watery delicacies from their favorite, fish, to small mammals, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects. A good life will be lived into the mid-teens. As with all wild birds, habitat loss is a threat, but great blue herons thrive in healthy fresh and saltwater ecosystems.

Great Blue Heron in the Everglades

What a splendid bird to admire and enjoy.

Great Blue Heron in Big Cypress National Preserve