There is a verse in the book of Daniel in the Bible which says: “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” Daniel 4:2
Miracles happen right in front of you each day and because we are only looking with our eyes and not our minds and hearts we miss them. Let me show you one of them.
Every year on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake at this time a miracle happens.
Regularly as clockwork the Bar-tailed Godwits arrive on our shores.
Godwits are wading, shore birds.
Note the curved bill (Ferns & Siman 1994) states “they are more manoeuvrable within cavities than are straight bills, and better suited for grasping prey within a confined space.” Cool!
Now here’s the miracle. These birds fly thousands of miles from Alaska to Australia non-stop. A total of approximately 7,300 miles. Can you imagine? How do they find their way? This just blows me away and they do not even stop to take a drink. How do they do it?
There are staging areas along the Alaskan coast where the flocks meet and prepare by feeding heavily for a couple of weeks before beginning their flight. They feed on clams and worms, so much so that its dermis bulges with the highest fat content recorded in birds. At the same time, some of the bird’s internal organs shrivel up. By the time a Godwit takes off, it is little more than brains, fat and flight muscle. Even the young who are able to fly take part in this amazing migration. Approximately 70,000 make the trip! Arriving in September, they are airborne again in March to fly all the way back. (Gill et al 2005)
They look in pretty good health, not wilting with exhaustion.
Rob Schuckard, a team leader at the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, which helped with the migration research describes the flight as “the equivalent of a human running at 70 kilometers an hour [43.5 miles an hour] for more than seven days.” (Hansford 2007) Wow! Think about that.
Even more amazing one bird studied demonstrated that during the flight bird “slept” by shutting down one side of its brain at a time while it burned up the huge stores of fat—more than 50 percent of its body weight—that it had piled on in Alaska. (Hansford 2007)
Top that one if you can! Some may put this feat down to evolution, I call it incredible engineering by a God who still works miracles.
What do you think?
Enjoy your day!
Marilyn
References:
“Alaskan Bird Makes Longest Nonstop Flight Ever Measured”, Hansford Dave National Geographic News Wellington, New Zealand, , September 14, 2007
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070913-longest-flight.html
“Solving the Mystery of a Migratory Marvel”, Wagner E, National Wildlife 2008.
https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2009/Bar-tailed-godwit-migration.aspx