Thankful For A Bird Named Mike
By Niki Behrikis Shanahan
November 2013
The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth. Psalm 104:10-14
On October 13th there was a bird that hit our bay window. I thought the noise I heard was our cat, Mickey, hitting the window trying to catch something, and then I looked down and saw a bird laying on a shrub branch. I went out and went to touch it, and it fell a short way to the ground. His eyes were moving and I started praying for Jesus to heal him. I went to get Jack upstairs and had him come outside with me. When he got to the bird Jack put his hand out and the bird seemed to go right in his hand. We sat on the steps for a few minutes with him and prayed and thank God he was alright. He must have gotten really dazed hitting the window, but started to look better. Then all of a sudden he flew out of Jack’s hand, and over to the tree where I put the sunflower seeds and food for them.
We were trying to figure out what kind of bird he was. We looked up birds because I thought it was a chickadee, but Jack said the beak was too long. We found him online and he’s a white breasted nuthatch. I never even heard of that bird. I would have taken a picture of him and I was thinking I’d love to especially while he was sitting in Jack’s hand, but I was more concerned about how he was doing. I also would not have wanted to miss seeing him fly away. He was so sweet. He didn’t seem to be afraid of us and he sat so nice in Jack’s hand. I was stroking his head but then Jack said maybe I shouldn’t because it probably hurts, and that was a good point so I stopped. But he didn’t seem to mind being with us at all. Jack was going to name him lucky because he thought he was a lucky bird, but I said no he’s not lucky, he’s blessed! So Jack called him Mike! We praise God our little Mike the white breasted nuthatch recovered nicely.
We do have those decals on the windows that are supposed to deter birds from hitting the windows. I put them on a couple of years or so ago when a bird hit the window. They don’t always realize that they can’t fly through the window, and these decals are supposed to help them avoid hitting the windows.
The birds are so lovely and I love to feed them and see them flying around the yard. The chickadee birds are the ones that I have found to be the friendliest. When I go out to put the food out for them and look up in the trees sometimes the chickadees are there, and they’ll fly around up there and talk to me. I talk right back to them and say hello and tell them that I love them. All the other types of birds seem to fly off when I get there. I pray over the food too and ask God to bless the food and all the kids.
The blue jays are back! When we first moved to this house the blue jays were here all the time. Then a couple/few years ago they seemed to disappear. Lately we are seeing them again and I’m happy about that. They are beautiful, but then they all are really God’s beautiful creatures.
I’m missing the chipmunks right about now, too. They must be mostly underground at this point because it’s getting pretty cold here in New England. In the warm weather I look out my window and they like to hang around near the bulkhead. Mostly I just see one at a time, but occasionally there might be two there. They sit out there and look so peaceful and Mickey sits on the window sill and I think it seems like they’re communicating. It brings a smile to my face when I see them sitting there.
It was a happy day when our little white breasted nuthatch, Mike, flew away in good health. Praise the Lord!
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26 NIV
Copyright 2013 Niki Behrikis Shanahan. All rights reserved. Not to be used without author’s explicit written authorization. To reprint this article, please contact the author at eternalanimals@comcast.net.