I'm not much of a birder but I do pay attention to these marvelous creatures as they fly and swim and offer up their songs. I depend on the North American Field Guide to Birds by David Sibley, which has remarkable paintings. I met Sibley a few years ago at an event in Halifax and was surprised that someone so young at the time (not quite forty) had created such a masterpiece.
Our son, Isaac, put me on to the Sibley Birds app, which is a little pricey, but very cool. Along with the paintings and descriptions it offers the song of each bird in several forms. A week ago we heard a bird while at a conservation area in Prince Edward County and it puzzled us. A couple of days later it occurred to me that it might be a Baltimore Oriole. When I checked the app, there it was.
I got a bit of a jolt when I saw an article in the New York Times pondering whether these apps are a form of harassment if used in proximity to the birds. Birds are territorial, especially when they return to North America to mate and raise young. Are these apps stressing the birds who may perceive interlopers in their territory.
You might be thinking, c'mon, they'll survive. But we humans are amazingly thick when it comes to "living with respect in creation," an important phrase in our United Church statement of faith. We tend to mess up the balance of the natural world, then expend great effort to try to fix our blunders. The article reminds me to "have a care" about the world in which I want to be a respectful participant. God has made me a steward of creation, as well as a creature, and I want to live up to the calling.
Any thoughts about this?
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