November is a good time to look
back and be thankful for what we have.
I chose to look at some old photos for inspiration for this blog. I kept coming back to a small
collection of photos I have of me with some of the many World Bird Sanctuary birds and animals I have worked with over the last 14
years.
I realized while looking over
these photos that I have been so lucky in some of the great experiences, amazing
animals and wonderful people it has been my honor to know over the years.
The first photo I am going to
share is from the summer of 2000.
That summer I worked at WBS’s Milwaukee County Zoo Bird of Prey
show. This is the group photo with
staff and birds. On the left is
Assistant Supervisor Heather with Panda the African Pied Crow, then Sara Pitzer with Solstice the Harris’ Hawk, a zoo staff member (sorry
I can’t remember her name) with Bogart the Eurasian
Eagle Owl, Supervisor Jeff Kingscott with Fred
the Hooded Vulture, and then me with Buchannon, the Golden Eagle. The cool thing is that I still work
with a few of these birds on a regular basis.
The next photo was taken in 2001
in Milwaukee again, but with Care For Critters, an outreach education program WBS
presented in Milwaukee, and I supervised for about
4 years. This photo is of Mischief
the White-necked Raven, and I.
Mischief is a special raven to me because I raised him from a youngster. That relationship I made with him when
he was young still exists. This
look in this photo is one I still see with him on a regular basis. Mischief will be a big part of my next
blog.
This next photo was from 2001 as
well. This is Mali, a Fennec Fox, and me. In 2001, I spent much of the summer raising young animals
including two young fennec foxes.
This is one of my favorite photos of Mali and me. When Mali was a baby she would go to
work with us and then come home at night for lots of socializing. This was such a great time. Mali would run around and then come
over and just want to snuggle like a kitten or puppy. We used her in programs for a year then she and Egypt, the
other Fennec Fox, moved on to the WBS Nature
Center and then to another organization.
The last photo was taken about 5
years ago of me working with Scar one of our two Straw-colored Fruit Bats. I fell in love with bats when I saw a
lecture by Marlin Tuttle in Milwaukee about bats. When I learned about all of
the connections between them and the environment, a
passion was discovered. Then in
2006 World Bird Sanctuary received two bats to use in education programs. I started training them and have since
used them in some programs. This passion for bats led to creating the WBS special
event called Baturday, which then became the
Midwest Bat Fest. Look for more
information about this event that takes place in early April.
When you are around these animals
all the time and work with so many different animals, there are times when you
can start to take what you do for granted. However, it is moments like this while looking at old photos
that you remember all of the amazing things you have been so privileged to do
over time.
Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World
Bird Sanctuary Naturalist
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