As I've already mentioned, spring in our city is not the most pleasant sight, perhaps the ugliest time of the year. Gray snow, gray sky, gray people tired after a long winter. Only by June our city begins to be covered with greenery and painted in the golden colors of the non-setting polar sun.
However, nothing prevents me from leaving this stone jungle and seeing how nature wakes up. Near the city you will not find a dense forest, only unsightly trees on hundreds of hills around. But there, in the south, are impenetrable Karelian forests, with age-old pine trees, the tops of which scratch the clouds. But even earlier, literally an hour away is the border zone, the place where the far north ends (or begins, depending on which side to look at) and mixed forests spread out, which give shelter to dozens species of animals.
Spring is waiting at every step in this almost wild land. The forest has already awakened, there is still a lot of snow around, but it has almost given up. The first vegetation is struggling to reach for the sun's rays, which finally give not only light, but also the long-awaited warmth. There are a lot of sounds in these almost deserted places. The sounds of nature.
There are no residential settlements nearby, and local rivers and lakes have access to the bay, which carries these waters even further to the Arctic coast. I know that hunters love these places very much, there is a lot of prey. But you and I will hunt only for moments today. I don't even know the names of the birds and animals that I was lucky enough to meet in this magical forest, but it doesn't matter. I was able to appreciate their beauty without words.
My goal was a flowing lake, one of the largest in the area, I assumed that the migratory birds should have already returned, but I didn't expect to meet them literally immediately turning off the trail.
The swamps were the first to be freed from winter captivity and already provide food for these long-legged beauties. I think I will not be mistaken if I say that this is some kind of heron. I didn't dare to get too close for fear of disturbing their meal.
In a nearby clearing, other representatives of birds were actively looking for food among the islands of last year's grass, surrounded by snowdrifts.
At first I thought it was an adult female with chicks, but only then I looked at them more closely in the photo and it seems to me that they are completely different types of birds. Well, or these little guys are adopted.
By the way, my eyesight played a cruel joke on me in the third clearing. I thought that I would probably be the luckiest hunter, meeting animals in this forest literally at every step. Herons, those strange little birds, and now wild geese. Take a closer look.
I almost ruined someone's hunt. These are dummies to attract migratory wild geese, put up by a man, I think he was somewhere nearby, in an ambush. I didn't try to detect him or myself...
There was another pleasant surprise waiting for me on the shore of the lake, it turns out I went to the beaver territory. It's nice to see that these diligent guys have settled here, it's a good place, lots of delicious trees. I didn't even expect to see a live beaver, they are very careful.
The lake itself has given me generously. A cute pair of ducks posed, not at all shy of my presence. Only the drake sometimes looked in my direction threateningly, not recommending to get too close.
It was funny to see a similar couple nearby, of a different kind. It's as if they came to the same restaurant at the same time, where the last free table was left and now the confrontation of charisma and status will begin.
But the main celebrities of this photoshoot were waiting for me at the other end of the lake. A seal, a sea hare and someone's little fluffy bundle of joy. I don't know which of these two was lucky enough to become a parent this season. The baby was equidistant from both recumbents, who enjoyed the spring sun and even ignored my presence.
it was very difficult to leave this wonderful corner of the wild, in which so many different species found their home or temporary shelter. I've not seen such a variety of life in the wild for a long time and the harmony reigning around, which also settled in my heart that day. I hope one of you, dear readers, will tell me who I met in the spring forest.
