Our Tiniest Patient: the Northern Saw-whet Owl
by Calah BeckwithLead Wildlife KeeperHawks, falcons, eagles, owls. We treat a variety of raptors, each with his or her own unique challenges and needs. These predators of the sky range in size from the 10-pound bald eagle to the 1/4-pound American kestrel. Without exception, we know that regardless of size all raptors have extremely sharp…
A Hawk Hullabaloo and a Barred Owl Bonanza
At the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation, we serve myriad bird orders: raptors, songbirds, waterfowl, wading birds….the list goes on. However, each season brings us a new “assortment” of avian patients. During the spring and summer months, we are inundated with baby birds, mostly of the songbird variety, but we also see a number of…
Goodbye, VINS!
Releasing a barred owl back into the wild. Today I had the chance to release a barred owl who came to VINS in February after being struck by a car. This will be the last bird I release for VINS, as my time here in the wildlife rehabilitation department comes to a close.Watch a video…
Feeding a Screech
An eastern screech owl is receiving care at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. The owl broke his wing and suffered head trauma after flying into a person’s car. Watch a video of staff hand-feeding this owl. When the owl first arrived at VINS, he was not able to eat on his own. We’d leave…
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Why so pink, barred owl?
In these photos, you will see the outstretched wing of a barred owl patient, and below that wing, the preserved wing of a barred owl who had died (wing kept for educational purposes). Photos by Lauren DiBiccari. Do you notice something about the wing of the live barred owl? It’s pink! No, this is not…
Time for Lunch, Little Owl
This barred owl is not feeling so great. He was found standing in the middle of a road last week, unable to fly. We treated the bird for head trauma (we are pretty sure he was struck by a car), but he’s still a little dopey. Watch a video of this owl being fed! When…
Meet Our Screech Owl
The VINS Nature Center in Quechee, Vermont, does a lot more than patch up injured birds and return them to the wild. We also care for dozens of permanent resident birds. Previously injured owls, hawks, eagles and songbirds — who could not otherwise survive in the wild — find sanctuary here at VINS, where they…
Not So Baby Anymore
Have any parents out there woken up one morning and realized your “baby” is taller then you are? That must be how our foster owl has been feeling lately. Now that adulthood is creeping in, our fledgling eastern screech owl has grown in almost all her adult feathers and now weighs 193 grams! (That’s 0.4…
Chip Off The Old Owl
It has been 5 days since the eastern screech owlet here at VINS was introduced to our adult eastern screech foster owl and we thought it was time for a little checking in. Both of our owls are doing great! While there has not been any snuggling or cute nick-naming of one owl to the…
Where’s the Baby?
Here at the wildlife services department of VINS we have been lucky enough to play foster parents to a young eastern screech owl for the past few weeks. If you have recently been by the Rehab In Action exhibit’s one way viewing window you may have seen us dancing around in a crazy looking feathered…
