Spoonbills and crocuses jump the gun on spring [Photos]

A pair of roseate spoonbills show off their brilliant plumage in this photo taken by Harold Wagle, a finalist for the National Wildlife Refuge System's 2012 photo contest, at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

The National Wildlife Refuge System, which covers more than 150 million acres of protected land across the country, will celebrate its 110th birthday on March 14.

Visitors marvel at the Atlanta Botanical Garden's annual Orchid Daze exhibit, which has taken on a surrealist theme this year, on Feb. 24 in Atlanta, Ga.

Raindrops hang on to purple crocuses, a flowering plant belonging to the iris family, on March 1 at Kew Gardens in the Kew district of London, England.

A field of coreopsis tinctoria wildflowers soak up the sun at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwest Oklahoma.

In addition to these cheerful yellow blooms, floral enthusiasts can also expect to see Indian blanket flowers, wild blue indigo and blooms from prickly pear and barrel cacti.