Watch and Wonder on Earth Day

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth,[a] and they will teach you,
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:7-10 NRSVue

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful:  in love, God made them all.

1 Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,

God made their glowing colours, God made their tiny wings.  R

                                                Voices United 291

Happy Earth Day, the 56th edition by my reckoning.  

Yesterday we went to a local Conservation Area for a modest ramble that took us to the Moira River. We were pleased to see a pair of bald eagles on their massive nest next to the rapids. On our return walk we heard and saw a Houdini-like pileated woodpecker. The eagles and this species of woodpecker are in recovery in Ontario, a hopeful sign. During the drive back to Belleville we watched a blue heron fly overhead, only our second of the season

In our yard there has been lots of activity related to Spring. Our neighbourhood male red-bellied woodpecker now brashly announces his presence by rat-a-tatting on the eavestrough before feasting at the peanut feeder. The other day I watched a pair of tiny golden-crowned kinglets flitting in the lilac hedge. And again this year we are figuring out how to keep the feisty robins from nesting on one of our outside light fixtures. 

During a bitterly cold cycle along the Bay of Quinte the other day I was about to turn back in defeat when I saw scores of swallow swooping low over an inlet in search of insects. My outlook was transformed...well, improved. 

We don't consider ourselves birders by the standards of those who keep lists and brave extreme weather in pursuit of their hobby. Many of them have an astonishing ability to identify birds we just can't figure out, although the Merlin app has gone a long way to levelling the playing field for less knowledgeable enthusiasts. 

I've started into an interesting book by Ragan Sutterfield, an American Episcopal priest, Watch and Wonder: Birding as a Spiritual Practice. As soon as I saw the title I knew that resistance was futile and I ordered a copy. Sutterfield considers his birding, a lifelong pursuit, to be a contemplative practice as a Christian and invites us to consider this approach. He organizes the book chapters according to the twelve months of the year with headings including hospitality, abundance (April), grief, and vision. I look forward to delving further into what is already proving to be a wise and insightful and reverent exploration. 

I've shared that during Lent I invited the Trenton United congregation to note their avian sightings in what we called Bird-Brained with St. Francis in Lent. It was great that during those weeks folk would sidle up on a Sunday morning and share what they had seen. 

There is so much discouraging news about the degradation of our planetary home, including grim reports on the drastic reduction of the number of migratory birds each year -- shockingly in the billions. Still, we are invited by Jesus to consider the birds to overcome anxiety and worry. And we can learn from them about resilience. 

The title of Sutterfield's book, Watch and Wonder, is perfect for our time. Wonder is a form of humility and praise for the Creator and Creation. This glorious morning we'll head out for a paddle in another favourite conservation area and who knows what we'll see.