Faith Without Seeing
By Christy Lowman
Burke County
Growing up one of my favorite birds was the Bob White. I have never seen one in person but I always knew they were around by their call. Growing up, we did not have air conditioning so the majority of the time the windows were open. I remember sitting on my bed and just listening to Bob White’s call. They lived in the woods behind our house. The call was very distinct and it sounded just like the words “Bob White.” Most of the time a mate in a nearby tree or a relative far off in the distance would answer the call. What I enjoyed the most was a lot of the time I was able to fake the call myself by whistling. Some of my calls were good enough to get an answer back from the real bird and that pleased me greatly.
A few months ago, my husband and I were talking about birds we no longer hear here that we heard all the time when we were growing up. The top bird we both missed was the Bob White. According to research, they have had a huge decline, (85%). They figure most of this is due to habitat loss and certain pesticides that are fatal to them. Also, Bob White’s life span is only 6 months to 5 years in the wild. They are a very popular game bird for hunters as well. Nevertheless, I miss them.
Some of the Bob White’s habitats are tall grassy fields, farmlands, and pine tree thickets. They can be found in the eastern part of North America, South America, and Mexico.
The Bob White is also known as a partridge or a Virginia quail.
Through Spring and Summer, the Bob Whites pair off with their mates. In the Fall and Winter, they stay in groups called coveys. Each covey can have as little as 3 birds and as many as 20 birds.
These birds are ground birds, meaning they prefer living on the ground than in the trees. However, they can fly on short flights to escape predators. They will peck and scratch the ground like a chicken for food. They also roost on the ground at night. When they are in the covey, they will gather in a circle with their tails facing the center, with their heads pointing outwards. This is to help them stay warm since they do not migrate and to also help them see potential predators coming near.
Most of these quails eat vegetation like leaves, grass, seeds, berries, etc. But at different times of their lives, they will need protein and will eat insects like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and such.
A single couple of birds can produce 2-3 broods of offspring a year.
There can be as many as 16 eggs at a time in the nest. Both parents will incubate the nest. The nest is made from a scratch on the ground covered by leaves and grass strands. The female will usually weave an arch of grass strands to go over the nest to camouflage it.
When Bob White babies hatch, they are what is called precocial. Precocial means the babies come out of the nest already covered in down feathers with their eyes open and can already walk. The hatchlings leave the nest not long after hatching however, the parents still care for them and feed them for several months out of the nest.
If a predator comes close to their nest the parent will perform the “broken wing act” to lure the predator away. They do this to protect their chicks, it gives the impression to the predator that their wing is broken and that they can’t fly away making them look vulnerable and an easy meal for the predator.
Bob Whites are hardly ever seen but are heard because their call carries a great distance.
Bob Whites reminds me of God. God is always there even though we don’t see Him. Sometimes we know He is around by the miracles He performs on our behalf. Sometimes we hear Him speak to us through our conscious. Sometimes you may not feel like God is around because you are going through a hard time and it feels like He is not there. Maybe you are waiting for Him to answer questions, open up a door to a problem, or resolve a problem and you feel helpless and like He is ignoring you. I can assure you this is not the case. He is there, listening, working on your behalf, and waiting when the time is right to help you. Sometimes He may not answer prayers the way we want Him to. For instance, I waited for 13 years for a prayer to be answered before it was, and when it was answered it wasn’t exactly how I wanted it answered but He revealed to me then why it was answered the way it was and why it took so long to answer it.
So don’t give up on your prayers, pray them without ceasing, He will answer them in His perfect time and He is always there even though we can’t see Him. He is still out there just like the Bob Whites are even though I haven’t seen them or heard them in many years. I find comfort in the fact that one day when we get to heaven, we will get to see Him and Jesus and I hope one day in the future I will be blessed by hearing the call of the Bob White once again!
If you would like to hear and see a Bob White go here: https://youtu.be/S4219Wc9DSE?si=qPpKyXAOhVdtgjLt.
Dear Lord, I pray each one of us will realize and remember You are always here no matter how helpless things may seem. You are always in control and You are always acting for what is best on our behalf. I pray that our relationship with You will grow stronger each day! In Jesus’s name, I pray, Amen.
“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 NLT
Bibliography:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Bobwhite/id#
https://abcbirds.org/bird/northern-bobwhite/
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-bobwhite
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Christy Lowman is a Christian author and illustrator that lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and two children. She enjoys writing and illustrating books for all ages. Some of her short stories are published with Guideposts and HCI. Christy gives all the glory to God in everything she does. A portion of every book sold from the Small Bible Character Series will be donated to battle human trafficking. If you enjoy her books, “like’ her author page on Facebook and let her know! You can buy her books at //www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AChristy+Lowman&s=relevancerank&text=Christy+Lowman&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1. You can reach her at //www.facebook.com/authorChristyLowman/
or christyssoaps@yahoo.com
You can read more Christian news from Christy here.
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