836.
That’s the current record.
836.
According to the American Birding Association, if you want to obtain a record for personally identifying the most species of birds within the United States during a single calendar year, that is the number that you would have to beat. 836.
836 different species of birds. All personally identified by sight or by sound over the course of one year within the US.
My mind can barely comprehend this type of feat. I feel like I’ve accomplished something if I recognize an occasional yellow finch or if I get a glimpse of an oriole.
836 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BIRDS????? All within the US? All identified within the course of a year by one gentleman?
I don’t even know how to begin to process this type of information. It is just beyond my abilities to compute how this is physically possible (or even that desirable…it definitely falls outside of my passions). Still, the fact remains. John Weigel has done it. He holds the record for the United States Big Year. 836.
Apparently, I have lived the majority of my life unaware of a couple of things. One, there is a difference between birding and bird watching. (Birding…when you travel to see birds. Bird watching…you notice birds while traveling.) Two, there is a thing called a “big year,” where you travel with the specific goal of identifying as many birds as possible within a year. This can be done within the US, where 836 is the current record. Or, it can be done within another geographical area…like across the entire globe, where the current record sits at 6,852 species by Arjan Dwarshuis.
Who knew? Maybe you did. I surely did not.
I’m neither a birder nor am I a prolific bird watcher. Granted, I enjoy seeing cardinals. I like catching glimpses of blue jays or eastern bluebirds. I’ll even notice a hummingbird from time to time. For the most part, I enjoy birds (unless they are dropping their business somewhere that I would prefer for it not to be). I enjoy their songs. I enjoy thinking about their ability to fly. I enjoy their colors. I even enjoy their variety.
Still, I am no ornithologist. I’m not even intentional about my enjoyment of our fine-feathered friends. No bird feeders. No bird houses. No bird baths. No binoculars (unless I happen to see something that I consider extraordinary). No field guides. No notebooks to journal my sightings. Nothing like that.
Do you know the most that I do?
I’ll occasionally throw some bread that has gone stale outside of our window in hopes that I might see something special. Sometimes, I think, “Maybe this crusty old bread will attract an amazing bird. Perhaps I’ll get to see a tufted titmouse.” (OK…I probably wouldn’t know a tufted titmouse if it was pecking me in the toe, but I had to put something there.)
That’s it. Stale bread. The occasional stale chip. Discarded in a pile with the tiny hope of catching the glimpse of some pretty-looking bird if I happen to be walking by the window at the right time. No further effort.
Typically, my efforts, even though they are very minimal, pay off to a certain degree. The bread gets eaten, and birds come. I’ve seen some cardinals enjoying some Italian. I’ve seen some blue jays nibbling on some Lays. I’ve even seen some sparrows scarfing down some Cheetos. It’s working!
But do you know what bird excited me the most? Do you know what bird brought the biggest smile to my face?
A crow.
Plain. Old. Ordinary. Normal. Black. Crow.
It brought about a huge smile! I was overjoyed to see a crow snacking on the stale treats it had been presented.
“A crow! You mean to tell me you got excited about a crow!” Yes. A crow.
You see, I have fond memories of crows. Specifically, I have fond memories of my Grandpa feeding crows. At the same time everyday, Grandpa would get up from his chair and exclaim, “Well, I’m off to feed my birds!” Then, he’d head outside with all of the food scraps to feed the crows. He’d take them pieces of fat, bits of leftover mayonnaise, scraps of food that went bad, whatever he could find, and he’d set them in his back yard. Every day. Same time. Same place. He kept his appointment, and the crows did too. They’d come and wait up in the trees or on the telephone wire until Grandpa left. Then, they’d swoop down to enjoy their meal. Day after day after day. Grandpa would take out the scraps. The crows would come and eat them. For years, Grandpa would feed his crows.
Yep. Crows. Not hummingbirds or bluebirds or cardinals or jays or anything flashy. Grandpa fed crows, and he would laugh about it all of the time. “How do you like my birds, Chris? Aren’t they great?” he’d ask with a huge smile and a twinkle in his eye. “I wonder how many will come tomorrow?”
Grandpa knew that what he was doing wasn’t “normal” bird watching behavior. He knew that most people seek to attract the “pretty” birds, the ones with all of the vibrant colors. People will put up hummingbird feeders or try to attract orioles or finches or the birds that are colorful. Not Grandpa. He preferred the crows, and he was fine if this was considered “unusual” behavior.
You see, Grandpa saw value in crows beyond beauty, beyond aesthetics. He would talk about how smart they were, how they would remember. (Scientists say that they are as smart as a seven-year old child. Able to problem-solve, remember people, and use tools.) He’d talk about how reliable they were, how they would come everyday at the same time. They knew when to show up. He’d also talk about how useful they were, how they would eat all of the things that he didn’t want spoiling or stinking up the garbage. For Grandpa, crows were an intelligent, consistent, and practical bird that would help him with cleaning up. (Try asking that of a hummingbird. No! They just want your sugar water!) Grandpa was able to look beyond the feathers and the fluff, seeing value in a bird that most people consider to be a nuisance.
It makes me wonder. How often do we do the same?
How often do we see the nice car, the designer clothing, the flawless face and want to attract that type of person? How often do we see the plumage of success and equate value? How often do we hear the sweet sounds of a pleasant voice and associate worth? How often do we judge based on outward appearance, whatever those may be, good or bad, and we proceed based on those appearances?
I fear that we behave in this way more often than we’d like to admit. We make judgments based on hair cuts or color, whether someone is wearing the latest trend, if someone can afford a proper suit, and on and on and on and on. We use all kinds of factors and variables to make judgements and to assign worth to people based on external perceptions, sometimes instantaneously, and we rarely look beyond them. We judge using external measurements. Not so with God.
This is how God judges:
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
~ 1 Samuel 16:7
The Lord looks at the heart.
For us, this should serve as a reminder in a least a couple of ways. One, we should be mindful of how we are “looking” at others. Are we judging based on external realities? Are we drawing conclusions based on external factors? Or, are we asking God to reveal to us the heart? Even if the appearance is off, or the words aren’t quite right, or the behaviors aren’t 100% what we would expect, have we sought to “see” the heart? Have we sought to get below the surface?
Two, have we applied this standard of judgment to our own lives? I don’t even want to think about how much money is spent per year on diets and exercise programs and plastic surgery and image management and on and on and on. Some of that isn’t all bad; however, physical appearance, success, financial freedom, etc. isn’t the criteria by which we will be judged. Instead, God sees the heart. How are we doing in that department? Are we spending time in allowing God to mold our heart to be more like his own? Are we concerned with our own inward beings more so than external appearances?
I don’t know about you, but I have some leftovers that have gone bad, some food that has spoiled, some scraps that need to be taken care of. I have some thoughts and ways of judging that do not align with God. It is time for those to be set out and removed. It is time to quit judging based on the external and instead ask God for a view of the internal. It is time to feed the crows.
How about you? Are you willing to look after things that may not be as attractive or initially appealing but will ultimately be more beneficial? Are you willing to get rid of some waste and thoughts that will just continue to stink up your life? Are you willing to take a lesson from my Grandpa?
I hope that you will join me in this endeavor, and perhaps the next time you see a crow eating an old crusty piece of bread, it will put a smile on your face as well.
~ Pastor Chris
