Winged Weeds

“And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you?” ~ Matthew 25:38

The devil may have gone down to Georgia, but the devil bird came up to Vacationland. Hundreds of miles north of her usual range, a young Anhinga visited a quaint wooded swamp conveniently located along a country road not far from Augusta. With a passing resemblance to a cormorant and very similar behavior, it is understandable why she went unreported for the first couple of weeks of her stay. Like cormorants, anhingas submerge to catch fish to eat and spend a good deal of their time catching rays with outstretched wings to allow them to dry. While wet wings make flight difficult, they are an asset when seeking extra weight in order to dive, and, of course they are a boon to bird watching since the bird stays in one place for extended periods in an easy-to-spot pose.

Anhingas look like a heron on top and duck with a turkey tail on the bottom, leading to the nicknames “snake bird” and “water turkey.” The name, Anhinga, comes from the Tupi Indians in Brazil meaning “devil bird” or “evil spirit of the woods.” Thankfully, I did not need to sell my soul to see her, although some may have considered that worthwhile given this rarity was the first record for Maine and she seems to have flown the coop just five days after the birding community learned of her presence.

Many of the best birding tales involve time and location, often brief visits of birds in strange locations. But at another time or in a different location, that bird might be seen as a pest or worse. The same Anhinga causing gasps of excitement in Maine is considered an evil spirit of the woods in Brazil. Of course, we should not be surprised. I’ve long contended that a weed is simply a flower that hasn’t learned to grow in a line. Manicured lawns can only be considered appealing if we reject the truth that nature abhors monoculture. We all have our lenses through which we assess beauty. Consider the Mute Swan, a non-native, invasive species, just like dandelions. But unlike the flower, they are far more destructive than beneficial, so why don’t we consider them weeds with wings?

Jesus knew that we have this tendency. That is why he told the story of his return when the wicked will justify their lack of justice and compassion due to having not seen or heard Jesus telling and showing them what to do. Surely, they reason, if the person in need had been Jesus himself they would have done the right thing. On the other hand, the righteous saw the Anhinga and marveled at her gifts, whether in Maine or in Brazil.

PRAYER: Jesus, we see you. We will try to stop behaving otherwise. Amen.