365 Photo Project-September 2014

As things with my work and personal life get busier it becomes more of a challenge to take photos, but I still find ways to get them in. 

The 9/11 flags display on Art Hill in St. Louis, MO (photo: Cathy Spahn)

The first two photos are from the September 11 Art Hill celebration.  Art Hill is the lawn to the north of the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park.  Every year flags are placed on Art Hill in remembrance of September 11. 

The overcast sky added to the solemnity of the occasion (photo: Cathy Spahn)

This year there were 684 flags, one for every 10 military personnel who have lost their lives since the September 11, 2001 attacks.  It was a very solemn sight; the flags were beautiful yet you could feel the reason they were there.  The overcast that day added to the overall feeling of the day and even made the color of the flags stand out.

WBS Staff member Paige Davis releases McGyver the Harris' Hawk (photo: Cathy Spahn)

My next two photos were taken at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, where WBS presents a birds of prey program.  I did not have many opportunities to take photos during the program, but I tried.  The set up for the show is such that you need 3 trainers to make sure the show goes smoothly, and sneaking in some photos is challenging.  In order to take a photo I had to stand behind a wall barrier onstage and point a camera through the crack in the barrier.  This makes the angle of view very narrow. 

WBS Staff member JoHanna Burton releasing McGyver the Harris' Hawk (photo: Cathy Spahn

Even with this limitation I managed to get a few nice photos of World Bird Sanctuary staff members JoHanna Burton and Paige Davis with MacGyver the Harris Hawk.

In many ways I think the photos in this month’s blog speak for themselves.  There are moments of peace, joy, and excitement all captured in a few photos.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Good day, Lords and Ladies!

  It’s that time of year again…

…beautiful fall weather, funny costumes, and a World Bird Sanctuary van driving back and forth repeatedly to Kansas City for the K.C. Renaissance Faire.  We are known as the “King’s Falconers,” and visitors often tell us that we are their favorite reason to come back to the Faire year after year.  The World Bird Sanctuary has been doing raptor shows at this Faire for over 20 years and I think it is one our most enjoyable traditions.

Me (Dana Lambert) with our young Peregrine Falcon Millenium, volunter Jennifer Jones with our grey phase Screech Owl Twig, and longtime beloved volunteer John Kinsey who passed away suddenly in December with Dewey the Bateleur Eagle, who also passed away earlier this year

Now, this is not to say that it’s all fun and games to do shows in this setting.  You have to learn how to get up and down from benches and fly birds in your crazy outfit, which for most of us involves big sleeves and long skirts, without falling over.  People are always standing all around your stage, which is something we can discourage at most of our flying programs.  At Faire, however, that is simply impossible.  Pets and other animals are not allowed at our programs under normal circumstances.  This too is a special Faire circumstance that a naturalist must learn to safely deal with, as dogs, chickens, parrots, and ferrets are just a few of the creatures who have tried to visit our shows with their owners!  Oh, and like any time of year in the Midwest….the “beautiful” fall weather isn’t really always beautiful!

All these things aside, I love my time at the Renaissance Faire.  In fact, these challenges are how many new staff, interns, volunteers, and even new birds, have learned to be adaptable and think on their feet.  These kinds of scenarios teach us how to do better, more entertaining shows and be better at our jobs in general.  Because of that, Ren Faire is something I feel as many of our staff and volunteers as possible should experience at least once.

Whether you’ve never seen a presentation by our naturalists or you’re a frequent visitor to our site and events, I encourage you to come out to Kansas City and see what Renaissance Faire is all about.  The shows out there are unlike any others we do, you won’t be disappointed!

Renfaire begins Labor Day weekend and runs through October 17th.  For more information click here.

If you can’t make it out to K.C. this season, you can catch the “King’s Falconers” at the Wentzville Renaissance Faire in May, as well as back in Kansas City starting Labor Day weekend 2011. 

Huzzah and Godspeed to ye all!

Submitted by Dana Lambert, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist