Peter Guesses “Hooo” Will Be Our 500th Patient!

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!

The staff has been guessing about the date of our 500^thpatient. Some say early November, some have even said December 31^st. With baby bird season over the days of multiple birds coming in at once have decreased, so I think we’ll be closer to December. My guess for the species would have to be a Barred Owl. During the winter and after Christmas we get many Barred Owls in due to car collisions. Combined with the fact that the Barred Owl is the most common species of owl in this part of Vermont, there is a very good chance that we could reach patient 500 from admitting Barred Owls in the next couple of months.

As for the year so far, we have a top 10 species list admitted to our hospital, they are as follows:

1-      European Starling (EUST)

2-      American Robin (AMRO)

3-      Barred Owl (BDOW)

4-      Rock Dove or Pigeon (RODO)

5-      Mourning Dove (MODO)

6-      Eastern Phoebe (EAHP)

7-      Cedar Waxwing (CEWA)

8-      Mallard Duck (MALL)

9-      Broad Winged Hawk (BWHA)

10-  Common Grackle (COGR)

This year has been a busy one. That is both sad and amazing. It is sad because so many birds were injured, kept illegally, imprinted or starving. The amazing side is that were able to help and rehabilitate many of those birds and give them a second chance at life in the wild. As always if you see an injured animal, do not approach it, call your local wildlife center or Fish and Wildlife Service for instructions. Thank you to everyone who supports VINS and our mission for rehabilitation and education!