Last month, staff at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) provided health exams to all of the center’s residential birds — from the golden eagles in our raptor exhibits, to our little mourning doves in the songbird exhibit.
Our great gray owls — a male and female — both came to VINS after sustaining injuries that left them unable to fend for themselves in the wild: the male is missing an eye, and the female had a compound fracture in one of her wings that damaged a tendon. Below, VINS intern Priya Subbarayan examines the eye of one of our great grays.
Above, Subbarayan (left) looks into an owl’s ear, while Americorps member Emma Brinley Buckley holds the bird. Below is a closeup of the owl’s ear. Both owls checked out in good health, and were returned to their outdoor enclosure after their exams. Come see these birds for yourself at the VINS Nature Center!
