The Spirituality of Bird Feeders   

I haven't had a bird feeder in the yard for over a decade. I never put one up when I moved into my current neighborhood since they are only allowed during the winter.(1) I guess it seemed like too much of a hassle to put it up and take it down annually. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I'd like a bird feeder again.

Not having a feeder for so long was a mistake.

Everyday I wait to see the birds arrive. I find simple pleasure in watching them dive in to the feeder, perch, eat and flutter away. I find the uncomplicated practice of watching the birds calming, centering, and even a bit spiritual.

I am not alone. When I posted on Facebook about the simple pleasure of the birds there were a number of comments. One called the birds entertaining, and another referred to them as support animals. A friend confessed, "Got me through this entire year. Could watch all day" a statement underscored by the fact that the year he is is talking about is 2020 - a long hard year. It seems the birds a have some therapeutic or spiritual power.

The spiritual nature of birds should not have surprised me. The tradition I am a part of has birds in key stories. Noah learns the flood is over from a bird. During 40 years in the wilderness, God's people are sustained by quail. Elijah is kept alive during a long drought, in part, by ravens that feed him. Poets and prophets alike use images of birds all through the Old Testament. Jesus himself has a dove descend on him at this baptism and also uses birds to teach when he tells his listeners to "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."

Here in Alaska the traditional stories also give a nod to the birds. In one understanding the raven creates the world. (2)

On a recent morning I stood looking out the window, cup of tea in hand, and my daughter commented to me "You have become Nana." It is true that in this area I have become my mother. My mother, in turn, has become her parents since they too fed the birds and enjoyed their company. It seems that this simple, spiritual ritual of offering a feast to the fowl is a family tradition.

So as 2020 slowly creeps to a close:

May we all find a simple daily ritual, like watching the birds, to center us. 

If you have a feeder, while you sustain the birds, may the birds sustain you as they did Elijah.

May the avian arrivers in all of our worlds remind us not to worry, just as they did Jesus' listeners. 

May we all stop, and enjoy the simple pleasure of the birds.

Joel K


Footnotes:

(1) This policy is in place to prevent attracting bears.

(2) Katharine Berry Johnson, Myths and Legends of Alaska (Chicago: AC McClurg & co., 1911), 17-32.