Nature Blog

Center for Wild Bird Rehab -Looking Back on 2020

VINS Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation has experienced its busiest year yet, receiving a total of 1,025 patients.

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2019 at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation

It has certainly been a busy year! Many may remember that our intake total was a record-breaking 652 patients in 2018. But move over, 2018 – the VINS Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation received 705 total patients in 2019.

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NestWatch Season Wrap-Up 2019

I am often floored by how quickly the seasons go by, from our brief spring in Vermont, to the flurry of autumn colors. But what I find even more impressive is the speed of the full nesting cycle of our native songbirds.

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Project FeederWatch Season Summary

Another season of the citizen science program, Project FeederWatch is behind us, and it was a very big winter! Now in its 32nd year, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s winter bird-watching project aims to connect people with the wildlife in their backyards, and with the world of scientific research.

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Spring Brings River Otter Pups

by Karen Ruth RichardsonVINS Volunteer One morning, a January dawn, I walked the VINS trails before my volunteer shift. I turned on a trail which ran alongside the icy river. I heard a crack in the ice. I crouched down and held still. This was the crepuscular time of day (at dawn) when many mammals…

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Join the VINS Volunteer Transporter Rescue Network

by Caitlyn RobertAvian Rehabilitation Intern Do you want to help wildlife? Do you live in Vermont or close by in New Hampshire? Are you able to drive long distances? We need your help! Join our Volunteer Rescue Network and you can provide the lifesaving transportation injured birds need to reach medical care at VINS! Every…

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Stellar Monarch Tagging Season at VINS

By Jim Armbruster Seasonal Environmental Educator     As the leaves begin to change color, the days grow shorter, and the temperatures get colder, monarchs are still on the move south.  During a short break from the rain, on a nice sunny day, we at VINS tagged our last seven butterflies bringing our season total to 74…

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NestWatch 2018 Report

by Anna AutilioLead, Environmental Educator Nestling Eastern Bluebirds Another season of nesting birds at the VINS Nature Center is behind us, and the world is full of young fledglings learning to make their way in the wide open world. It was quite a busy summer here, between the rush of baby birds needing care at…

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Easy Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Waste Today

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.” June’s call to action is to reduce…

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VINS Volunteer Transporter Training

by Lauren Adams Lead Wildlife Keeper Love animals?  Live in Vermont or New Hampshire?  Have a car?  Have some flexibility in your schedule?  We need you!  Help VINS rescue and rehabilitate injured wild birds by being a volunteer transporter! Every year, VINS rescues and rehabilitates around 500 wild birds from all over the state of…

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