THE BIRDS AT NOTRE DAME


Yesterday was a cool rainy day, so I pulled up my recorded NOVA episode called “Saving Notre
Dame.” On April 15, 2019 a fire broke out at 6:18 pm that nearly burned down the 850 year old cathedral.  As I have revealed before, I am sort of a science geek. I loved this episode not only because I am interested in finding out more about the fire, but because this NOVA episode shows that there is a lot of science involved in resolving the many issues that have stemmed from the fire.  The damage is so bad that it is taking a large team of researchers to figure out how to salvage as much of the original Notre Dame as possible and to restore the cathedral to its former glory.   

 

The fire began in the attic and quickly spread to the roof because the dry timbers under the roof burned so quickly.  As the lead roof and spire burned they sent out toxic lead into the air and coated the whole cathedral and its stain glass windows.  The researchers had to determine a way to remove the lead aerosols without damaging the stain glass and how best to protect themselves from toxic lead as they clean the cathedral.

 

The whole structure had so many problems that if one part of the frame begins to fall then it would be like a house of cards and it would all tumble down.  So, the architects have made temporary wood bracing to help hold the structure together until more of the many parts can be designed and put together by artisans that can do the crafting together of stonework and wooden beams.

 

As I thought about the fire the thought came to my mind – “What about the birds of Notre Dame?” So, I Googled this question and was surprised to find an article on qz.com that was about the birds of Notre Dame!  The caption was – “Why does it look like birds were circling the flames of Notre Dame?” and there was a photograph of three birds flying high above the smoke and flames.  The article says that at first people thought the birds were ravens which seemed to fit with the medieval images of the fire at Notre Dame. 

 

Since it was such an ominous “end of the world look” of birds, flames and smoke the author contacted the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to ask about the birds.  Cornell quickly let them know that there are no ravens in Paris - “Rooks and Carrion Crows, but no ravens.” But they did suggest some reasons for the birds flying above the fire scene.  Sometimes birds are attracted to fires “to forage on 2 classes of prey: (1) stray organisms that are escaping the blazes and (2) insects that are attracted to the smoke because of their… dependency on dying or recently dead wood.” So the birds might have been looking for small animals and insects fleeing the flames.

 

Since the article didn’t say what type of bird was actually in their photo, I screenshot the photo and I zoomed in on the birds to see if I could identify them. I didn’t recognize the bird shape, so I loaded the zoomed photo into my Cornell Lab Bird Photo ID app.   Even though the photo was fuzzy the app identified the bird to be a Peregrine Falcon!  As I followed my little trail of clues, I once again used Google to find out if there were Peregrine Falcons in Paris.  Yes, according to Brut.media Peregrine Falcons had disappeared in 1947, but have now returned to Paris.  I’m excited that I was able to identify the birds that flew over the flames of Notre Dame. The Peregrine Falcon witnessed that awful fire and I can’t help but love all that I have learned as I once again “Look at the birds of the air…” Matthew 6:26.

My photos may be viewed & “LIKED” on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - “Birdie of Mississippi”.

            E-mail: birdieofmississippi@gmail.com - Read my Blog @ http://www.birdieofmississippi.blogspot.com

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GETTING STARTED WITH BIRDIE OF MISSISSIPPI

Image
Birds, of course, have been flying and living around me all my life.   I studied basic knowledge of birds in elementary school and I was taught the name of our State Bird – the “Mockingbird”, but I’m not certain that I would have known what it was if I actually saw one! But I could recognize local birds that live in the South such as robins, cardinals and a few more, but it didn’t extend too far past that.   I have always been a very “busy” and “task oriented” person, but last spring things changed. During my early morning quiet time with God I read a Scripture “Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14.   In reading this I realized that I regularly fail to appreciate sunrises and sunsets, spring flowers in bloom, and yes “birds” because I don’t venture outside to register these happenings!   I have never been an outdoor person because I dislike heat, getting sweaty, bugs and getting bitten!   All, of course, happens to every person that lives in  Mississippi.
Read more

BROWN THRASHER

Image
  When I am in my yard I never know what type of bird may come - whether it will be an old friend that comes every day or a visitor just passing through on the migration trail.   If it’s a photography day, I begin to pray for God to send birds that I have never seen in order for my “bird passion” to stay alive.   And on some days God does exactly that - He calls in birds that I have never seen and I get all charged up again.   But, some days He tells me to be content with what He gives me.   I have found that’s the good life….being content with what He gives us.   In that contentment I have often received a fresh look at a bird I have seen many times but there is so much more for me to learn.   This week that bird is the Brown Thrasher. This is the time of year that a Brown Thrasher really enjoys because the leaves are falling and everyone’s yard will be covered with leaves.   Just like his name says the Thrasher likes to noisily “thrash” through leaves, small rocks and branches
Read more

WHAT WE COULD BE MISSING

Image
  WHAT WE COULD BE MISSING BY: PEGGY WILLIAMS AKA Birdie of Mississippi You may not be a PBS fan because lots of people aren’t interested in educational programming, but I am becoming more and more of a fan of both PBS and National Geographic as I re-coop on the couch from my fractured bones.   Not every program is educational, but since I enjoy math and science I gravitate toward programs about the earth and about outer space.   The nature programs have helped me learn about the grand scope of our environment down to tiny details about our planet.   There are programs about what we see when we look through our telescopes here on earth and also about the photos taken of our solar system from Voyager 1 and 2. And the more I watch and learn the more that I want to become like Solomon and have wisdom!   The programs show me how inter-woven every detail of nature and man are.   And even the word “nature” is such an all encompassing word!   Flowers and trees, birds and bees, and water
Read more