Photo Project - Year 3: Spring Things & Fun In The Snow

March has been a good month for taking photos of the birds I get to work with on a regular basis at the World Bird Sanctuary, as well as a start to the flower season outside. 

I think I will start with a little sign of spring.  March has been an up and down month for weather.  On one of the nice, warm, sunny days I was luckily off from work for my birthday, and I took a nice walk at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis. 

Crocuses - the first sign of spring (photo:  Cathy Spahn)

One of the first signs of spring, flower-wise, is when you see crocuses coming up.  These small flowers can easily be missed, but if you know to look for them they are very pretty.  I just love the purple and yellow ones.  The sun that day just made them stand out.

The next series of photos were taken on a work trip to Hastings, MN at Carpenter Nature Center.  We presented shows there early in the month.  On this trip we took our Snowy Owl, Tundra, on her first travelling trip.  Since they had lots of snow and it was cold up there we took advantage of this, and placed her in the snow to see what she would do.

Is that a birdy smile--or what?  (photo:  Cathy Spahn)

First off I think if a bird could have smiled she would have been grinning from ear to ear.  She sat in the snow and made her happy/excited sounds (we trainers get to know the sounds our birds make and what they mean). 

This is one happy bird (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Then she started looking at the snow.  All of a sudden she stuck her face into the snow.  She came up with a face full of snow, and she even ate some!  Several times over the weekend we took her outside to sit in the snow.  Tundra had a ball!

She stuck her whole face in the snow (photo:  Cathy Spahn)

Sometimes when photographing the birds we do it to capture the beauty of the birds.  Other times it is to capture the action of what a bird may be doing, like a few of these photos of Tundra and the snow.  This experience with her was such an amazing and fun moment of watching a bird in a natural moment.

The bird version of the kid who just got into the cookie jar (photo:  Cathy Spahn)

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to look for Tundra in the weathering area behind the Office of Wildlife  Learning  Nature Center.  This is where she spends most of her days—unless she’s traveling with our staff  to do an educational presentation.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist