Common Birds

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Matthew 6:25-34

Andrew Kiss - Canadian nature artis

Common birds fill the bush in front of our little town apartment this morning. I opened the window to enjoy the April air and their constant chatter.  But when I was not warm enough with my slippers, blanket and a sweater, I closed the window back up. Spring is mostly here. But winter is still holding her hand.

My lonely bird feeder waited almost three weeks for visitors. Locals and husband both assured me that it was still much too cold for there to be any birds to invite. But I could not help feeling a portion of the jilted host. I daydreamed that I would become a sanctuary to lovely rare birds and I was giddy when my eyes caught the first feathered friend perched on the green feeder. A small chickadee but no sweeter chickadee had I ever seen. 

Much to my surprise, birds did not flock to the feeder but seemed more interested in the seeds that had fallen to the ground. Hoping to attract more birds and not lose the ones who had come, I gayly spread seeds into the bushes like an old woman in the park making friends with a gaggle of pigeons. Happily, the birds appeared in twos then fours and finally I was in the double digits. A cardinal pair (a nest must be nearby), a Titmouse, a Chickadee, a male American Robin dashing in and out and a small flock of a familiar but unknown to me bird. 

I watched them with my binoculars for a few days, ducking near to the sink to pretend I was doing dishes if a neighbor walked by. These little brown, white, black and chestnut red colored birds looked like an exciting family reunion with the feisty young and dominating mature and gossipy girls and wrestling young. After a deliberation in my bird identification book, this former country girl identified the common House Sparrow. 

I felt deflated. All that hard work of laying out a feast and it is being poured down the throats of the city bird nuisance. But I couldn't help myself and continued to spread a handful here and there beneath the bushes for this jovial crowd. I thought about this tiny bird and considered the words of Jesus. He reminded us that if God notices and cares for these little birds, how much more does he care for us?

Between work, cooking, laundry, dishes and phone chats, I continued to return to the windows to observe the House Sparrow flock. I am amazed at how animated and feisty these tiny birds are. I read that they often mate for life and are aggressively protective of their nesting area and have been observed attacking many other species or even stealing another songbirds nest. There are a number of articles on how to trap them and rid your area of their presence. Sparrows are said to be one o the most common animals on the planet. Overwhelmingly, they are frowned upon as a pest who thrive where humans are. 

"Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology was the introduction of the English Sparrow." -W.L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903

As a fledgeling birder, I obviously have a lot to learn in how to care for an urban feeder and protect the song birds native to the area. 

But I am still impressed with some thoughts through my observation of these birds. We are really not so different. Hunting for the best seeds and best homes. Preening in the sun. Gossiping loudly in one corner of the bush and wrestling with testosterone charged hormones in the other corner. When one bird has found a succulent seed, everyone else must investigate and try and get a piece of it for themselves. Dust baths and loud and subdued cheeps, flitting and flapping through the day. 

Common bird - besides the population numbers, I find its social attitude is also strikingly common. And yet, on close inspection, each tiny common sparrow has its own unique blueprint. There is the fluffy female who shyly waits in the bush and when no one is looking hops into the bird bath. A mature male does not seem interested in food but sits at the highest point like a king surveying his domain. A juvenile dust bathes without concern. A rowdy male harasses male and female alike. A larger female sunbathes happily on the pavement. 

I marvel to think that humanity, which has also been likened to being a nuisance to the native habitat, with all of is jostling commonality, remains exquisitely unique. Each person with varied vibrancies and subtleties of their individual blueprint. 

There is an incredible longing in us to be noticed and liked.. and loved. We adore celebrities with a special brand of jealousy to be so adored. We accolade the successes of the brilliant and even build pedestals for the philanthropic. We do not want to be seen as uncommon and yet we share this common longing to be noticed. 

We search for it in every area of our life from career to relationship. Notice me. Like me. Love me. Why is this the case? Evolution of survival of the fittest? There is some truth to that... but Jesus. The most uncommon of common men. He came unnoticed in an animal shelter and returned to heaven through a glorious journey in the clouds. 

I consider these two truths. God did not find it beneath Him to be swaddled in a feed trough, or to be a carpenter or friend of prostitutes or even to die on a cross. But more uncommon can not be imagined in his personality. And this incredible uncommon God imagined us, with all of our individual uniqueness. And He notices us. Scripture tells us he knows the number of hairs on our heads. He knows the number of our thoughts and bottles our tears in a jar. He notices and he loves.