The "small bird"

         I sat in a corner of our back porch, bundled up against the breezy 49F weather.  As I settled down, I noticed I had a surround sound experience of a variety of birds twittering calmly from their different perches. In a tree down to my left there were a couple of female cardinals eyeing the bird feeder which was standing about six feet from where I sat. A little further away I spotted a Red-bellied woodpecker hopping up the trunk of a tree, but he soon flew away. Straight ahead there was a pair of mourning doves sitting with feathers ruffled up. Behind me in a cow pasture, two crows hopped along the edge of the grassy field; they would occasionally caw to each other. And to my right I could hear chickadees singing by our neighbor’s bird feeder. Though at first glance the yard appeared deserted and the woods looked grey and lifeless, they were in reality filled with life.

        Patiently I waited for the first birds to come back to the bird feeder. My guess was that the chickadees would show up first, but instead it was a Tufted Titmouse that darted in. It grabbed a seed and dashed away. A minute later it was back and this time it placed a sunflower seed between its feet and pecked at it until it opened. As it picked at its food, it was constantly looking around with quick, jerky movements. It eyed me suspiciously, but continued to eat. Back and forth it went between the bird feeder and a tree not 30 feet away. After it showed up at the feeder, a chickadee appeared and a while later an American Goldfinch alighted as well. I was delighted that I could observe them from relatively close. 

        Curiosity about the Tufted Titmouse led me to do a little research later and I found out that the origin of the name “titmouse” was Old English for “small bird”.  These small birds often spend their entire lives within a few kilometers of their birthplace and can be seen all year round. They can be recognized by their whistled “peter-peter-peter”.  However, what amazed me the most was the discovery that they have an alarm call that seems to fade off into the distance, giving the impression that it has moved from one place to another while in reality it remains safely hidden in one spot.

         It may be a “small bird”, but God has given the Tufted Titmouse a remarkable way to protect itself from predators. Likewise, we may feel small at times, but in His Word, God has given us ways to protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks as well. How awesome!

  American Goldfinch

Tufted Titmouse