Waiting for the Kingfisher

Until a couple of days ago, I’d never seen a kingfisher in this country and I’d put this as one of the things to do on my ’50 things @ 50 list’.  Having googled the best places to see this beautiful bird in the northwest and waking up to sunshine, Roger and I arrived at Pennington Flash.

 

I like watching birds but I get bored easily so as we got to Pengy’s hide, I turned to Roger and said ‘I’m not sure I have the patience for this!’. I’m not an optimist by nature, but deep down I knew that this was the day and the place to achieve my dream. We’d come prepared – a flask of coffee and some cake, a book for Roger to read – and I sat down for the anticipated long wait.

The first thing I noticed was the peace and calm – there was a kind of thickness to it, like a warm duvet enveloping me in comfort.  The second thing was the silence – none of the sounds I’m used to of sirens and cars and people – just bird song and rustles in the trees.  The third thing was a bird landing on a branch to the side of the hide. It was in the shade so all I could see was the silhouette but I realised this was it! The disproportionately long bill compared to its body, a fairly squat body.  After a few moments it flew across the pond and the flash or iridescent blue confirmed that we’d been blessed by the presence of a kingfisher. I hadn’t been challenged with a long wait, just ten minutes to have an encounter with the bird I’d long to see for many years.  The moment was soon gone though as a group of birders arrived and filled the hide with their chatter.  We slipped away rejoicing.

We spent a little time in some other hides, but they too were noisy – but we did have the privilege of watching a heron gorging itself on a breakfast of tiny fish and a delightful family of moorhens.

One of the prompts to deciding to embark on my quest this particular week was an article about Rowan William’s new book ‘Being Disciples’ in the Church Times.  He talks about how he loves the image of prayer as birdwatching:

“you sit very still because something is liable to burst into view, and sometimes of course it means a long day sitting in the rain with nothing very much happening. I suspect that, for most of us, a lot of our experience of prayer is precisely that.  But the odd occasions when you do see what TS Eliot (in section IV of ‘Burnt Norton’ called ‘the kingfisher’s wing’ flashing ‘light to light’ make it all worthwhile.  And I think that living in this sort of expectancy – living in awareness, your eyes sufficiently open and your mind both relaxed and attentive enough to see that when it happens – is basic to discipleship.”

He continues to talk about how in the Gospels the disciples don’t just listen, they are expected to look as well, picking up clues all the way through.  Williams notes how, in Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are portrayed as ‘incredibly stupid about picking up clues: they can’t do it.  The kingfisher flashes past them, and Peter or someone (usually Peter) turns round and says ‘Oh, I missed that’.’

Since spotting my kingfisher, a friend has introduced me to this beautiful poem by Anna Lewin…….

 

Prayer is like watching for
The kingfisher. All you can do is
Be there where he is like to appear, and
Wait.
Often nothing much happens;
There is space, silence and
Expectancy.
No visible signs, only the
Knowledge that he’s been there
And may come again.
Seeing or not seeing cease to matter,
You have been prepared.
But when you’ve almost stopped
Expecting it, a flash of brightness
Gives encouragement.

Prayer can be just like this – a long, long wait. But sometimes, we have that encounter with God very quickly; we receive an image or an idea or some words as soon as we’ve sat down.  What do we do then?  Once I’d seen the kingfisher there was almost no point staying – I’d done what I’d set out to do.  But we stayed, and were free to look for other things – the unexpected family of moorhens and the heron feeding right in front of us.  If we’d gone home straight away, we’d have missed these further delights. But we also had time to reflect on the gift of the kingfisher without our focus turning to more mundane things like driving home or what to have for lunch.  So too with prayer – if we sense that God has spoken to us quickly, we needn’t stop praying. Instead, we can relax with what we have received, mull it over, ponder it – and who knows, God might have other treasures in store for us as we sit.

I’ve also been prompted to search for a vaguely remembered kingfisher piece of writing by Trevor Dennis in his book ‘Keeping God Company’. God is pictured as a dove flanked by her archangels, a nightingale and a peregrine falcon.  A kingfisher comes to ask God to make him different. He wants to sing as beautifully as the nightingale so that all would stop to listen to him. He also wants to be able to fly like the falcon so that he could come hurtling down out of the sky and scare the living daylights out of everyone! God laughs and tells the kingfisher to look at his back but the kingfisher can’t turn his head around far enough and he can’t fly upside-down above the water to see his reflection.  God tells the kingfisher to fly up and down the river while she watches. 

“The kingfisher did as he was asked, though he didn’t have a clue what his God was on about. He flew fast and straight, while the autumn sun shone full on his back, and the blue there caught fire and made all seem dull beside it.  He turned and flew back to the patch of light in the woods.

God clapped her hands. ‘My friend, my good friend,’ she cried, ‘you have your own glory! I have put it on your back! It was a good day’s work when I made you! You wear me on your back! Fly now, my kingfisher, flash your blue flame over the water, and we will delight in all that beauty I have given you! You do, you wear me on your back!’

It’s been a privilege this week to see that flash of blue, my first kingfisher.  God’s glory glimpsed indeed over a peaceful pond near Leigh. A memory to cherish- but also an image to ponder further on as I reflect on prayer and discipleship.