Surprises after Dark

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, over every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1: 20-22

The last few summers, I have put up a jelly feeder for the orioles as well as a hummingbird feeder. The jelly feeder attracted not only beautiful orioles, but catbirds and house finches. The sweet nectar of the hummingbird feeder brought in the baby hummers starting August first this year, a month earlier than 10 years ago when they arrived September first.

I have struggled with myriads of bees coming to the jelly feeder, threatening the birds and me. One night, I decided to try and fill the jelly feeder after dark—without the bees, but to my surprise, the bees were still there at 10 p.m. The term “busy as a bee” took on new meaning as they seemed to be feeding there 24-7. My neighbor raises bees and sells honey. I will ask him if the honey tastes like grape jelly. One night I checked the jelly feeder at 11 p.m. and to my surprise, the bees had been replaced by about 30 pale gray moths. They almost looked like little ghosts feeding on the jelly.

Today I got serious about putting out bird food for the fall, hanging up the suet feeders, and a peanut butter feeder for the woodpeckers. The response from the birds was immediate—a young scrappy nuthatch checked it all out and selected a sunflower seed. The blue jays let out an alarm and swooped in for the peanuts in the shells. The baby sparrows and gold finches were trying to figure out the suet feeder which they had never seen before. A young mourning dove was standing in the middle of this, trying to figure out what to do—I don’t think they are very smart. I knew Mr. and Mrs. cardinal would be in at dusk.

Being able to watch the birds has truly been a blessing this last year. With retiring, staying home because of Covid, and adapting to my new lifestyle, feeling the joy of God’s creation has been beautiful.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonders of your creation. Thank you for the birds of the air, their varieties and habits. Thank you for their beautiful color and their songs. Help us to praise you for providing us with a perfect world and help us to appreciate the environment which helps us all to live. Amen.

Nancy Hall