Barred Owls: Round Two
We’re getting our second wave of emaciated, hit-by-car barred owls admitted as patients at the VINS’ Wildlife Services department. In the photo to the right is a barred owl who sustained a fracture in his left wing (and has a wing wrap on to stabilize the bone), as well as damage to his right eye.…
Red-tail Hawksicle
When we lifted this bird up to examine him late one afternoon last week he was motionless, his feathers caked with snow and ice. He’d been found weak in a snow bank with severe hypothermia, his mate in a nearby tree. Have you been following his story on Facebook? We immediately got to work thawing…
What’s With The Tail?
Last week a Cooper’s hawk was brought to Wildlife Services after she hit a window on a dairy farm. After its examination it was determined to be emaciated and a bit bloodied from the collision. She was given vitamins and a fluid diet to treat the emaciation.Her size and coloring indicate that she is a…
Half-a-Wing Shy
This northern saw-whet owl — who came to VINS with a fracture in his left wing complete with nerve damage — has had quite a row to hoe during his recovery here at VINS. See a video of the owl getting his stitches removed. You may recall this little fella from an earlier post on…
I Shall Be Released
Last month we had a surge of barred owls admitted to wildlife services, each one the result of a car collision. We are happy to report that we have begun to release some of them. Watch a video of the latest barred owl release here. The numbers are in: car collision was the top reason…
All Owls, All the Time
These days, it seems as though our incoming patients are all barred owls, all the time. In the past month, the VINS Wildlife Services department has received 15 injured barred owls, making us wonder if we’ll have a repeat of the winter of 2007-08. During that winter, VINS received more than 40 (yes, forty! That’s…
Raptor Research at VINS
One of the ways VINS motivates people to care about the environment is through research. Recently, Tufts grad student Jana Thomas came to VINS’ Wildlife Services Department to record data on raptors for her Master’s thesis. Below, she summarizes her project. In the photos, VINS intern Katie Christman (right) assists Thomas in handling our red-tailed…
The Road to Recovery
By Katie Koerten VINS Wildlife Services Intern Vehicle collisions are the number one cause of admissions to our rehab facility at VINS. Otherwise healthy birds can sustain broken bones, head trauma and a host of other problems this way, and the prognosis is not always good. The nitty gritty: watch a video of the owl’s…
Your Standard Red-Tail
Now this is how a red-tailed hawk is supposed to look: dark brown eyes, mottled brown feathers and a rusty red tail. Compare her to the leucistic red-tailed hawk seen recently in Vermont — what a difference! See a video of the red-tail shown below being released. Above, VINS Education Intern Katie Christman releases a…
That’s No Chicken
While the bird sitting in this chicken coop sure looks white and feathery like a chicken… that ain’t no chicken. But this odd-looking bird was just what a local Vermonter found sitting in his coop the other day. What you see there is actually a red-tailed hawk with leucism. A leucistic animal is similar to…
