aussiebirder

As the cold days of rain continue into weeks and now months with the occasional break birding has become challenging to say the least. However on a recent weekend we did have an afternoon of sunshine to explore our local bird reserve along the bay in search of the birds that Winter-over every year. These include the Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey-tailed Tattler. The juvenile birds only just manage their first trip from Siberia to Australia about 12,000 km non stop across the Pacific Ocean taking about 6 to 8 days, so the birds less than three years old often stay another season before making the return trip and fully embrace the yearly rhythm of autumn and spring journeys back and forth from the top and bottom of the world.

The Bar-tailed Godwit has the longest recorded migration non stop. That means not landing for food since these birds are waders and can only float or swim very briefly. They are able like some other creatures to turn off half their brain to rest while flying. This mainly applies to the birds that return to Australia’s east coast and New Zealand. Here is a small flock of the ones resting as the tide comes in. Two birds continued to feed right to the end of the tide.

The winter-over flock

We often see several bird species resting peacefully together, sharing their space, as above. Birds of similar habitat tend to have a respect for each other most of the time, including the odd stray or single bird that is without its flock or partner. As we humans know there is security and safety in numbers, and therefore in community. One of the major problems for many people today, especially single and aged individuals living alone is the loneliness and lack of community interfacing, which is so vital to emotional, physical, social and mental health and support. My books emphasise this using the Australian White Ibis as a good example, and also the Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey-tailed tattler in this post.

The Grey-tailed Tattler a small wader bird, would normally have also flown north to escape the winter and breed but a small flock remain here also.

While the Silver Gull is a year round resident of out coastline they also demonstrate the importance of community when they come together at times during the day after their separate fishing exploits. Here that are having their ablutions together in a large puddle remaining from the tidal change.

Conservationists have built a bird nesting / safety island out in the bay. Here is a good example of several species of bird in harmony together. Silver Gull are nesting in between the sand bags, Australian Pelican are prancing about showing off their physique while the Pied Cormorant flock are resting along with gulls and a lone White-faced Heron.

Similar to our intelligent birds we all enjoy the benefits of community which facilitates the security, safety, healthy relationships, sharing of skills and love for others. We all need to feel safe, respected, noticed and most of all loved. Community brings with it the need for trust, honesty, kindness and integrity for it to work well, qualities which are being currently eroded from our culture as the rising self-focused generation are not taught to respect the core values of a healthy community and a caring society. These values are what makes every nation Great ! and prosperous as history has shown over many thousands of years, kingdoms rise and fall due to their behaviour. The grow strong when they work together in trust and integrity with a caring sharing community ethic and fall apart when they become selfish, corrupt and disobedient. We were created for community, to be interdependent on one another. We were created most of all to be dependant on our Almighty Creator who’s heart is for loving community, which reflects his nature –

God is Love ! He proves his love for us ‘in that while we were still selfishly sinning against him, his Son Jesus dies for us for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we could once again be united in relationship with him and with his eternal community he calls The Kingdom of Heaven. We are all invited through faith in Jesus to join his forever kingdom community.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake [alive] or asleep [dead], we may live together [eternally] with him.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:10

Enjoy your week and stay safe. Invite a friend or family member out for a birding date or walk and…

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Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.

Member of Birdlife Australia

To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.

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