It takes a special bird. They are called frugivores. Robins, tits, cedar waxwings, thrushes, mockingbirds and catbirds all “fill the bill” (or the beak, if you will). Fruit eaters need specific and edible berries. I’m particularly fond of chickadees. My wife’s mother gave her the nickname “Chickadee”.
Tits feed not only on tiny red berries, but also on seeds. I patiently stood very close to my parents’ hanging bird feeder with seeds in my hand. One day one of those flying blackcaps sat on my thumb and sucked up some seeds. It felt like I had invaded nature’s domain to find a special satisfaction in the stillness of this moment.
But it’s the robin shopping with a very diverse shopping list. Though she doesn’t like seeds as much as cardinals do…her shopping list consists of millers, locusts, and moths of all kinds. Perching on a blade of grass for a moment in the presence of a swooping robin is the end of the road. You just don’t stand a chance. Berries beg mercy: Almost every berry is enough for a hungry robin.
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Our red cherry tree was the rendezvous point for an insatiable team of robins. I still marvel at their ability to quickly rid the tree of all the bright red fruit. If we wanted to enjoy a cherry pie, we would have to quickly enter the fierce competition and join the pickers’ battle.
Bird droppings demonstrate their seasonal berry diet. Our driveways, cars, bird baths and smeared windows tell the story of berry season.
Oh, and during one summer’s berry season, it was warm enough to snuggle car windows into car door vents for a welcome, refreshing breeze to flow through. Air traffic control allowed the flight pattern of a robin to make its own high-speed passage. And sure enough, the console became the target of a choke-hold bombing raid. I couldn’t believe this just happened. It all took less than two seconds!
But it’s the lush, damp, freshly mowed lawn that is the hideaway of some of Earth’s greatest subterranean treasures. As slimy creatures slithered efficiently through their burrows near the surface, they became dinner. A robin lowered and tilted its head to one side; patiently motionless he listened and watched closely. STRIKE! The struggle for survival was in full swing. The robin would tug and the worm would wiggle in vain. Once pulled from its safe home, the wiggler would now be the sole object of the worm’s new short-lived lair. The lucky robin gradually gulped down the rickety subterranean treasure, spaghetti-like, to a purposeful (for the robin, at least) death.
It reminds me somewhat of the coming judgment for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. “For no other foundation can lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; The work of every man shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what kind it is. If a man’s work endures which he has built upon, he will receive a reward. If one’s work is burned, he will suffer harm; but he himself will be saved; yet as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
Three of these works are surfaces. But these underground treasure works from the heart are very valuable. They must be dismantled. And fire reveals this refined value. And great is the reward in heaven.
PRAYER NUGGET: Heavenly Father, we marvel at your creation. We have studied the birds of the air and notice how You care for them. Thank you for looking after and accommodating all of our needs. In Jesus name. Amen.
Please remember… You are deeply loved!
D. Jake Roberts is associate pastor of Monument Bible Church in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Before retiring in 2010, he was senior pastor of Monument Bible Church for nearly 20 years. He and his wife Sharry have been married for over 50 years.
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