Falling Blackbirds

Blackbird, male singing (Photo by Malene, Wikimedia Commons)

Only twenty-four?


According to the newscasters, there were at least sixty black birds that fell from the sky – not just once, but twice in as many days. What is happening?

Last Spring, a number of black birds landed in the lot behind my home. I counted 24 of them, and thought about that line in the nursery rhyme that I used to recite to my sons: “For and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.” (What a gruesome thought!). Several weeks later, again 24 black birds visited my lot.

Just last week, a flock of the shiny, black visitors were back, enjoying a feast at the feeder on a pole in my yard. This time, I didn’t count them. Then I heard about the black birds dropping from the sky.

There are different theories about the falling blackbirds. Perhaps something in the environment – a governmental interference – or an insecticide – or this or that.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, I invite you to comment.


(I recommend an article about the blackbirds on the Dothan Christianity Examiner site at www.examiner.com. Joseph Parker gives some insightful, provoking thoughts.)