Avian Sanctuaries
Photos from visits at wildlife sanctuaries where nature intertwines with compassionate human stewardship.
BY NICK SCHMIDT
Watson, an American Kestrel, gazes into the camera while being photographed at Tamarack Wildlife Center.
As the avians preen their feathers, the clement, morning sunlight emerges over the horizon and gleams through the tree branches. The dawn chorus begins, and the caretakers prepare for the day to come. Like many wildlife sanctuaries, it is quiet. The silence is met with the rustle of trees in the gentle breeze overhead. As the birds stir in their enclosures, the keepers endearingly provide their daily needs. These rescued birds cultivate a lasting connection with their caretakers day by day. The sanctuary is a place nature intertwines with compassionate human stewardship.
Ash, a Red-Tailed Hawk, spreads his wings out while being photographed at Wildbird Recovery at Stormy Oaks Nature Conservancy.
Zelda, a Merlin, perches on a branch at Wildbird Recovery at Stormy Oaks Nature Conservancy.
A close-up of an American Kestrel at Tamarack Wildlife Center.
The American Kestrel has long been my most admired avian species. As the species’ population continues to trend downward year by year, it had become a personal ambition of mine to photograph at least one individual. I was aware photographs existed of the species, though, I felt the need to document the likeness of the American Kestrel for myself. I began reaching out to wildlife preserves that had resident kestrels living at their sanctuaries. It was one summer afternoon at the Tamarack Wildlife Center in northwestern Pennsylvania that I was able to fulfill this aspiration. Now, I continue to build my archive of images, with the American Kestrel as part of it.
Watson, an American Kestrel photographed at Tamarack Wildlife Center, becomes the first kestrel to become a part of my image archive.
Ash, a Red-Tailed Hawk, perches in front of bird identification posters in the education center at Wildbird Recovery at Stormy Oaks Nature Conservancy.