Release of the Mighty Ducks!
Many moons ago, VINS Wildlife Services took in several clutches of young, orphaned wood ducklings. Okay, it wasn’t many moons ago — more like 2 months ago — but with the countless buckets of duck weed we’ve gone through and loads upon loads of towels we’ve laundered, it sure does seem like ages ago since…
Video Babes
Baby bird season is officially underway here at VINS Wildlife Services, and we have a bunch of videos posted here for your viewing pleasure. As of today, we have about 30 young birds in our care — ranging from wood ducklings to crows. While baby bird care has become second nature to the staff here…
‘Once upon a midnight dreary…’
In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Raven,” we meet a stoic raven “once upon a midnight dreary,” whose foreboding repetition of “nevermore” sends a young man into a state of madness. In England at the Tower of London, it is believed that if the ravens who reside on the grounds leave, the kingdom of England will…
I’m So Blue…
“But I’m getting better!” we can just imagine one of our fledgling blue jays saying. On May 31, a young blue jay was found on the ground in Essex Junction, VT, struggling to move. Believed to have fallen from the nest, the bird had broken his leg, with the bone poking clean through the skin.…
Maternal Instinct
Another one of our raptors from the exhibits here at VINS has found her calling in fostering a young baby of her kind. Our female red-tailed hawk, who has been known to go through various stages of nesting with her male partner on exhibit, now has the chance to flex her maternal muscle with the…
Got Waxwings?
UPDATE: VINS Wildlife Services was able to release this waxwing on Sunday in a Hartland neighborhood home to at least one known flock of cedar waxwings. Thank you to those who offered suggestions of locations to release the bird. We do appreciate your help! The VINS Wildlife Services department needs your help! We have had…
Oh, They Grow So Fast
Many people have been asking about our young great horned owl, featured a few posts ago in Welcome to Vermont, Baby Owl! Well, the owlet is now out in our flight cage where he can begin to practice flying. While it’s hard to believe just a month ago this owl was a downy ball of…
Invasion of the Baby Raptors!
It all started with our baby great horned owl, featured in the blog post, Welcome to Vermont, Baby Owl! Now we’ve got another baby owl, but this time, a barred owl. To top it off, VINS Wildlife Services also recently received a baby red tailed hawk! While baby birds of any sort are par for…
Catch & Release
There are few bird songs as haunting and distinctive as the melancholy call of the common loon. Their song evokes an ethereal wildness unrivaled by any other waterfowl. On May 10, VINS Wildlife Services received a call from a Brandon, VT resident who found a common loon in his front lawn. Loons’ legs are built…
Love Trap
Oh, what one will do when in love. We’ll make fools of ourselves trying to win over our sweetie. We’ll lose sleep and our appetites when we’re in love. We’ll follow our love to the ends of the earth. As the song goes, when it comes to love: there “ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t…
