Posts by jbird24
A Case of Schizochroism
Who is at this feeder? Could someone’s canary have gotten loose?Nope, this lemon-yellow fellow is a good ol’ American goldfinch with a case of leucism, a genetic mutation affecting pigmentation. While it’s similar to albinism, a leucistic bird maintains some normal coloring. As you can see in the photo, this finch’s eyes are not red,…
Read MoreDuck Gets His Winter On
Sometimes, you just have to wonder how birds get into the situations we find them in. Watch a video of a duck’s return to the wild. This mallard duck, found December 27, was spotted sitting under a ski lift at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, VT. Was he flying past the mountain, and hit wires…
Read MoreBack to the Daily Grind
The VINS Wildlife Services department has gotten off to a slow start this winter season, with a surprisingly small number of patients in for care as compared to previous years. Watch a video of our red-tailed hawk patient. However, with colder temps and snowfall, we’re now seeing patients suffering various ailments come in daily for…
Read MoreLove is in the Air
Why wait until spring to fall in love when you can now? Great-horned owls wouldn’t have it any other way. While the “love” may be questionable, there’s no question breeding season for these large raptors is about to get underway. Great-horned owls begin to search for mates in winter, nesting as early as January and…
Read MoreSpeak Your Mind on Invasives!
By Mandy Vellia, OCISMA Coordinator In 2002, the Noxious Weed Quarantine was passed by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to regulate the sale and movement of invasive plants. These non-native plants have proven to be harmful to Vermont’s working lands, natural areas, and waterways. While not all exotic plants are bad, species classified as “invasive”…
Read MoreFirst Barred of the Winter
The VINS Wildlife Services department received its first barred owl patient of the winter. The owl, found laying in a person’s yard in Norwich, VT, was brought in Wednesday for treatment. See a video of the owl. In the photo, VINS intern Hannah Goldman holds the owl as we prepare to give him treatment. Normally…
Read MoreSsspecial Resident at VINS
By Katie Christman VINS Education Intern A sudden case of identity theft has been thrust upon the staff at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (cue the dramatic music). Fortunately for us, our credit cards remain untouched and are bank accounts are secure. Rather, an unsuspecting snake has become the victim of mistaken identity! Take…
Read MoreLook For It Now: Late-autumn meadows
Late November finds Vermont meadows in their brown and brittle glory. Tall, oat-colored grasses bowing their heads, heavy with seed; wildflowers — long succumbed to frost — curled up and gray, readily giving up their remaining seeds to the wind. A friend of mine said recently that early autumn in Vermont — with its showy…
Read MoreDuck, Duck…Scoter!
On November 4th, an adult male scoter was transferred to VINS from rehabilitator Catherine Greenleaf in Lyme, NH. We know the scoter is a male because he is entirely black with a multi-colored bill that looks like candy corn. He also makes pipping and whistling contact calls that are particular to male scoters, and that…
Read MoreCorrection to “Irene’s Second Guest at VINS”
In a previous blog, you read that VINS received a dead oceanic bird the day after Tropical Storm Irene swept through Vermont. The Wildlife Services staff at VINS believed it to be a Wilson’s storm-petrel, but upon further examination, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies determined that it was actually a band-rumped storm-petrel, the first of…
Read More