Songbird Diseases & Bird Feeders: What To Look For
Bird feeding is a popular and enjoyable winter pastime for many people, bringing birds in close for easy viewing. While it is widely practiced and can even help biologists monitor populations through programs such as Project FeederWatch, there are some potential negative side effects of feeding birds.
What is a Flat Fly? Curiosity and Research at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation
By Anna Morris Lead Environmental Educator A flat fly (Christian Hugues) The birds that arrive for care at VINS’s Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation have had a rough time out in the wild. Not only may they be injured from car accidents, window strikes, or cat bites, but they often have acquired parasites. Some of…
Help Birds on Their Migratory Journey
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.” September’s call to action is to…
Got Bats?
By Alyssa BennettVT Fish and Wildlife Technician The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) needs help locating summer “house bat” colonies around the state. Vermont’s little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) commonly live in buildings such as attics, barns, and sheds from mid-April to October. Vermont’s hibernating bat populations…
Freedom
This American goldfinch is the latest patient to receive terrific care at VINS and return back to the wild a healthy bird. Watch a video of this finch’s release! You may remember this bird came in several weeks ago with conjunctivitis (pink eye). Read her backstory here. She’s all healed up now, and took a…
Not so pretty in pink
This American goldfinch has found herself with bad case of conjunctivitis, or pink eye. A woman brought the bird to VINS last week after observing her on the ground below a feeder, sitting there for hours. When we examined the bird, we found the tissue around her left eye red and puffy with a little…
My, what a long beak you have.
Woodpeckers need strong, long beaks to jackhammer their way into trees and get to the insects and sweet sap below the bark. But this downy woodpecker spotted in Hartland, VT? His long beak is grossly oversized. Throughout the United States, biologists are finding birds sporting extra-long beaks. Known as avian keratin disorder, this deformity occurs…