Posts by jbird24
How Many People Does It Take…
… to feed a cormorant? On the eve of Thanksgiving, a double-crested cormorant was found on a road in Springfield, VT — certainly no place for a waterbird. The bird was likely struck by a car, given the signs of head trauma and the internal bleeding. The cormorant is slightly thin and has wounds on…
Read MoreTraining Time
By Katie ChristmanVINS Education Intern Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a dog to fetch, your kids to pick up their dirty laundry, or VINS’ birds to fly in our educational programs? Well it has to do with some positive reinforcement, a lot of patience, and a willing subject. In the photo,…
Read MoreThe Road to Recovery
By Katie Koerten VINS Wildlife Services Intern Vehicle collisions are the number one cause of admissions to our rehab facility at VINS. Otherwise healthy birds can sustain broken bones, head trauma and a host of other problems this way, and the prognosis is not always good. The nitty gritty: watch a video of the owl’s…
Read MoreA Webbed Farewell
It’s not all forest-loving birds sporting talons and sharp beaks here: sometimes patients come to VINS fresh from the shore on webbed feet. In late September, the Wildlife Services department welcomed a ring-billed gull into its care. The bird was found sitting in the middle of the road in St. Albans, VT. In the photo,…
Read MoreYour Standard Red-Tail
Now this is how a red-tailed hawk is supposed to look: dark brown eyes, mottled brown feathers and a rusty red tail. Compare her to the leucistic red-tailed hawk seen recently in Vermont — what a difference! See a video of the red-tail shown below being released. Above, VINS Education Intern Katie Christman releases a…
Read MoreIt’s a cormorant! It’s a loon! It’s a …
By Katie KoertenVINS Wildlife Services InternLast week in Wildlife Services we were presented with every bird nerd’s dream: a mystery bird. Both the person who found the bird and the person who brought it to us were scratching their heads about what it could be. Click here to see this mystery bird get released! It…
Read MoreThat’s No Chicken
While the bird sitting in this chicken coop sure looks white and feathery like a chicken… that ain’t no chicken. But this odd-looking bird was just what a local Vermonter found sitting in his coop the other day. What you see there is actually a red-tailed hawk with leucism. A leucistic animal is similar to…
Read MoreA Mighty Flight
The juvenile bald eagle we released Friday is the talk of the town… and then some! Thanks to local and national media coverage, our eagle’s release made the airwaves and print throughout the country. See VINS’ video of the eagle’s release! Once considered an endangered species, it’s big news when an eagle makes such a…
Read MoreBald Eagle Takes Off
The VINS Wildlife Services team enjoyed a huge success yesterday, releasing a juvenile bald eagle from rehabilitation after the bird was shot back in September. See news coverage of the bald eagle’s release:NECNWCAX While we are always proud to see an injured bird we treat recover and fly off into the wild, the rarity of…
Read MoreA Day in the Life of an Ed Intern
By Katie ChristmanVINS Education Intern I’m typing this from my cubicle with a recycled corn husk desk, books on birds scattered everywhere and owl pellets to my left. From my window at VINS, I have the best view from any cubicle space that I have ever had. The meadow, full of asters, faded goldenrod and…
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