Spring Brings River Otter Pups
by Karen Ruth RichardsonVINS Volunteer One morning, a January dawn, I walked the VINS trails before my volunteer shift. I turned on a trail which ran alongside the icy river. I heard a crack in the ice. I crouched down and held still. This was the crepuscular time of day (at dawn) when many mammals…
Discover Your Parks and Public Lands this August with VINS
by Anna Autilio Lead, Environmental Educator In 2018, we mark the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird-protection law ever passed. In honor of this milestone, nature lovers around the world are joining forces to celebrate 2018 as the “Year of the Bird.” August’s call to action is to…
Target Training with LA – the vision.
by Nathan Thoele Environmental Educator What’s the point of this? To give her a way to show herself off on stage. To let people see how goofy it is when a vulture gallops around. To put people in a good mood so I can talk to them about difficult topics. To help me help people…
Target Training with LA – the beginning.
by Nathan Thoele, Environmental Educator What are you doing? I’m convincing this black vulture that right now, in this moment, in this context, there is nothing in the world more important than touching this ball with her beak. I’m building up my relationship with her by reminding her that, when I’m around with my trusty tennis-ball-on-a-stick,…
How to Rehabilitate – Lesson 1
by Peter GauWildlife Keeper Ever wonder how we get the birds we rehabilitate back to flight ready status? Well the answer might surprise you, maybe you have even experienced it yourself. We put them through physical therapy! That’s right, we work their muscles for them! Now you are probably wondering how you work a bird’s…
The Great Egret
By Lauren Adams Lead Wildlife Keeper Around the rehab center at VINS, winter brings few surprises. Lots of Barred Owls, maybe a few Red-tailed or a Cooper’s Hawks, a scattering of Mourning and Rock Doves, the odd winter songbird. Those are the usuals. So you can imagine our surprise when a very lovely, but very…
CWBR Updates & A Special Release
By Lauren Adams, Lead Wildlife Keeper Ah, winter. The “quiet” season in wildlife rehabilitation. Around here, we call it Barred Owl season. When the cold air creeps in, the mornings are frosty, and nighttime descends in mid-afternoon, this is when New England is up against its toughest test. Barred Owls, unlike many birds that populate our skies…
VINS Says Goodbye to a Beloved Ambassador, Utah the Great Horned Owl
By Lauren Adams,Lead Wildlife Keeper You can hear him even before you get inside the building. Each day he greets us with the characteristic “Hoothoot Hoot Hoot.” “Good morning, Utah,” we reply going about our daily tasks. It is easy to take for granted a friendly conversation with one of the most fearsome predators of…
Peter Guesses “Hooo” Will Be Our 500th Patient!
By Peter GauWildlife Keeper VINS is abuzz with exciting news from the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation. With the intake of patient #491 we’re only 9 birds away from treating 500 injured or orphaned wild birds in 2016! We haven’t been so close to this milestone in a few years- this is a big deal!…
Welcome to Northfield, VINS’ newest educator!
By Lauren AdamsLead Wildlife Keeper “Northfield” arrived at VINS on June 26th this year as a nestling hawk. She was found in Northfield Vermont,lying in the middle of the road with her wing drooped out to the side. A passerby recognized that the small broad-winged hawk needed help; she was possibly injured and definitely too young to fend for…
