Wildlife Storytelling
By Anna Morris, Director, Wildlife Ambassador Programs One of my favorite aspects of our live animal ambassador programs at VINS is the unexpected opportunity to educate through storytelling. While we highlight the interconnectedness of nature and the incredible adaptations of wildlife, we also share the personal stories of the animals we meet and the humans…
Saying Goodbye to Montgomery
It’s with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Montgomery, our exhibit American Kestrel. Montgomery first arrived at VINS as a patient on September 8th, 2014. He was found in Berkshire, VT after multiple people noticed him on the ground for a few days. It is unclear how he became injured, but a…
Farr Cross Returns
Insights from the Rough-legged Hawk Project Farr Cross, a Rough-legged Hawk we’re tracking with the Rough-legged Hawk Project, has returned to Vermont for the winter! This season, he’s been frequenting an area northwest of Middlebury. Outfitted with a GPS transmitter in winter 2022, Farr Cross has successfully migrated to and from the Arctic multiple times,…
2024: A Record-Breaking Year for VINS Wildlife Rehabilitation
By Grae O’Toole, Director, Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care In the heart of Vermont, our Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWBRAC) has just completed its most extraordinary year yet. In 2024, we admitted an unprecedented 1,254 avian patients, shattering our previous record of 1,098. This remarkable achievement represents our commitment…
Who Looks for You: Thoughts on Barred & Spotted Owls
Alden Smith, VINS Executive Director, reflects on the personal and emotional connection with barred owls, drawing parallels to their late mother, while also addressing the difficult conservation decisions regarding the culling of barred owls to protect the declining spotted owl population. This tension between emotional attachment to individual animals and the necessity of biodiversity conservation highlights the complexity and challenges faced by VINS in their mission to protect avian species.
Locating Broad-winged Hawk Nesting Sites
by Jim Armbruster, Lead, Center for Field Research This summer VINS will be focusing on locating Broad-winged Hawk (BWHA) nesting sites with the hopes to trap and band at least six of them with GPS trackers like we did with Ottuaquechee, a female BWHA. There is little known about BWHA’s and our efforts will help…
American Kestrels Return
by Jim Armbruster, Lead, Center for Field Research Some exciting news in the American Kestrel world! The VINS Research team is certain that a female kestrel we banded last year (pictured on the left) has returned to a nest box in Vermont with her mate (this will be confirmed by making sure she has a green…
The Remarkable Journey of Manu the Golden Eagle
By Grae O’Toole, Director, Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care On January 2, 2024, our team at the VINS Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care received a phone call from a concerned member of the public who had spotted what they believed to be an eagle on the ground in a…
Helping Wildlife in Spring
Baby animals may – or may not – need your help this spring. Here’s what you should do.
A Second Season of Winter Raptor Research in Addison County
As we slowly transition into winter, reports of migrant birds are trickling in throughout the state. Snowy Owls have been sighted in Colchester and Waterbury and researchers from Project SNOWstorm predict a “sizeable push” of immature birds this year. Snows experienced a robust breeding season in the eastern and central Canadian Arctic this summer which may lead to more sightings as winter progresses. These young birds sometimes wind up in trouble and end up at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation. This season we have already seen a young female who was in distress and emaciated. Unfortunately, the bird did not survive but samples will be sent to Project SNOWstorm in an effort to better help the species as a whole. Blood work will also be collected from any others that end up in rehab and sent to researchers in the project.
