Posts by jbird24
Meet Our Screech Owl
The VINS Nature Center in Quechee, Vermont, does a lot more than patch up injured birds and return them to the wild. We also care for dozens of permanent resident birds. Previously injured owls, hawks, eagles and songbirds — who could not otherwise survive in the wild — find sanctuary here at VINS, where they…
Read MoreBald Eagles Receive Pedicure
OK, our bald eagles didn’t really receive pedicures … or did they??? Take a look at our video and you be the judge. Twice a year, all of our permanent resident birds receive full health exams by the trained staff here at VINS. As you’ll see in this video, one of our two exhibit bald…
Read MoreOh babe, I hate to go…
It appeared to be a little hard for this barred owl to say goodbye to staff here at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. The owl, recently released back into the wild after successful rehabilitation here at VINS, took a while to fly from VINS intern Priya Subbarayan’s outstretched arms, as you’ll see in our…
Read MoreGolden eagles: check!
Yesterday, VINS staff donned heavy-duty welding gloves and tackled golden eagles. Sounds a little weird, but it’s all in the name of health!Watch our video of VINS staff examining golden eagles. Twice a year, all of our exhibit raptors — from screech owls to turkey vultures — are taken out of their enclosures and given…
Read MoreIn the ‘Neck’ of Time
This pileated woodpecker was found along a road, unable to fly, in Middlebury, VT. With a wing injury, a gaping wound on her neck, and a snowstorm on the way, this girl was rescued just in the nick of time! Thank you to the couple who drove this bird several hours to VINS on a…
Read MoreFreedom
This American goldfinch is the latest patient to receive terrific care at VINS and return back to the wild a healthy bird. Watch a video of this finch’s release! You may remember this bird came in several weeks ago with conjunctivitis (pink eye). Read her backstory here. She’s all healed up now, and took a…
Read MoreNot so pretty in pink
This American goldfinch has found herself with bad case of conjunctivitis, or pink eye. A woman brought the bird to VINS last week after observing her on the ground below a feeder, sitting there for hours. When we examined the bird, we found the tissue around her left eye red and puffy with a little…
Read MoreThat’s a Wrap!
Slowly but surely, things are looking up for a barred owl who came to VINS a few weeks ago with a broken wing and massive head trauma. We suspect the bird was struck by a car. See a video of this bird’s care at VINS. Today, VINS Wildlife Services Manager Sara Eisenhauer removed the wrap…
Read MoreMy, what a long beak you have.
Woodpeckers need strong, long beaks to jackhammer their way into trees and get to the insects and sweet sap below the bark. But this downy woodpecker spotted in Hartland, VT? His long beak is grossly oversized. Throughout the United States, biologists are finding birds sporting extra-long beaks. Known as avian keratin disorder, this deformity occurs…
Read MoreIt’s all about brumation, baby.
By Katie ChristmanVINS Education Intern To freeze or not to freeze? That seems to be the plight of many critters in the winter, but for many species of reptiles and amphibians, the decision to freeze or not to freeze can determine whether they make it through our Vermont winters. Being ectothermic species, reptiles and amphibians…
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