Quechee Gorge

The Quechee Gorge is one of the main reasons people stop in this town, there is state park, and I live right next to it.

I took a few photos from the bridge a few weeks ago:

This is looking up river:

This is looking down river:

Then yesterday, we had a snow day at VINS. What that means is the nature center was closed, and no one could get there but the interns who can walk. So we got up early, took care of everybody that needed to get taken care of and was done by lunch time. We played a round of Settlers of Catan. Then we grabbed some snowshoes and went down into the gorge. The trail connects right to VINS property, and is only about a mile round trip.

We actually ended up getting at least a foot by the end of the day, so it was fun to break trail. (those are my three roommates).

It was a peaceful walk through the woods and then down to the water.  We are upriver from the bridge, and that is where I took the earlier photos from.

That's me, in case you forgot.

 And then up river a little more from where we just were, is a dam. And behind the dam is Dewey's pond, and across the pond is the Quechee Inn where my mom and I stayed when we first got here.

It was a pretty great snow day. 

Adventure in the Mountains

So the Green Mountain State, it's gorgeous, and I could drive through it all day. And I did spend most of a day driving through the mountains a few weeks ago in pursuit of a Northern Hawk Owl and the from the need to explore.

The Northern Hawk Owl had been reported being at the same location for the past few weeks about an hour from me, so I plugged it in the gps and set off. And I still just love every second of driving through the mountains. Don't scold me, but I spend a lot of the time trying to capture the beauty them, but I never am satisfied. You all just need to come see them for yourself. To be honest, sometimes when I'm driving I get the Misty Mountain song stuck in my head from the Hobbit, because that's what they look like.

I arrived to the destination to find lots of people with ridiculously expensive camera equipment. Thousands of dollars. They have cameras hooked up to scopes that are the size of dinner plates. Honestly they spent the whole time complaining about the poor lighting where the owl was at rather then talking about how awesome it was!

I on the other hand, did not get a good picture. This is the best I got. But I did enjoy watching him through my binoculars for a bit. I guess I should give some background, it is unusual for a northern hawk owl to be as far south as he is, so it's a rare sighting. It was also my first time seeing one in the wild, so it was a fun thing to check off the list. 

And here is a photo from the internet, so you can see how beautiful they are. 

Then I decided to get back in the car and keep driving northwest all the way to Burllington, which is on the coast of Lake Champlain. Checkout the star on the map to see where I was :)

Lake Champlain was gorgeous and there is not much more to say. I took a stroll along the water and stretched my legs a bit. 

Another driving photo in the mountains....

I stopped at a little town called Montpelier for a gas, and I discovered it was the capital of Vermont. I am very slowly learning about this New England place...

And I was not able to get a good photo of any of it, but I was able to watch the sunset over the mountains on my way home. 

Program Birds

The last post was photos of the exhibit birds, now I want to share some of the program birds. These birds are not on display for they public, but they do their work in programs. I don't have photos of them all yet, but I'll share what I do have.

First off, there are four program birds that are flown in programs. The only one I don't have a photo of yet is the Harris Hawk, but I will get one soon because he is gorgeous. The other three are an American Kestrel, a Red-tailed Hawk, and Rough-legged Hawk. 

The Kestrel is the cutest thing ever. He is an imprinted bird (doesn't know he is a bird) and therefore likes hanging out with people. He has no physical injury, so no flight limitations. 

The red-tail is a big lady. She ran into power lines when she was a juvenile and her wing never healed correctly. She does not have full flight mobility, but can do short flights in programs. 

 The rough-legged hawk looks similar to a red-tail (they are both buteos). This lady has a larger head, a bigger wingspan, and feathers down her legs. She collided with a vehicle, her wing never healed correctly, but she also can do short flights in programs. 

Then we have some owls. This a great-horned owl. You can see he has damaged in his right eye due to a collision with a vehicle. He hoots constantly which is cute. 

This a barred owl. He is blind in his left eye due to a collision with a vehicle. Barred owls have the oddest 'expressions' in my opinion.

A Barn Owl - this might be my favorite type of owl. They are majestic looking, they cackle and hiss, and they are movie stars (the main character in the guardians movie). 

I haven't worked with this guy yet, but it's an Eastern Screech Owl who had his left eye removed because of damage. 

Another bird I don't have photographed because I haven't worked with him yet is a male red-tailed hawk. 

And finally, a turkey vulture. This is a great old lady (33 years old) who occasionally wanders around the wildlife building. She is the most ladylike and polite turkey vulture I've ever seen or heard of. 

That's all I got on this topic, for now. I am sure I will take hundreds more photos of them, and have many more stories, as these are the birds I will be working with closely. 

p.s. You may have notice I didn't say any names, that's because they don't have them. It is a way to help visitors understand that these are not pets, but wild animals. Also, even if they did have names, the birds would not care or even recognize them. 

Exhibit Birds

I want to share with you the amazingness that is the exhibit birds at VINS. They are all non-releasable birds (so have some sort of disability that would prevent them from surviving in the wild), and some were rehabilitated at VINS while others were from different centers. I'm not going to do breakdowns of each bird or species, so if you like the looks of one, do some research of your own for now. Perhaps I'll share stories about these guys later. But I do not participate in the husbandry of these guys at all. I just get to walk by them every once in a while and ogle them. So just enjoy it already.

Snowy Owl

Rough-Legged Hawk (Actually also a program bird and flys in programs)

Great Grey Owl (male)

Great Grey Owl (female)

Turkey Vulture #1

TurkeyVulture #2

Merlin

 Common Ravens (aka the Lovebirds)

Red Tailed Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Eastern Screech Owl

American Kestrel

Barred Owls

Great Horned Owls

 Peregrine Falcon

Golden Eagles

Bald Eagles

There are also two broad-winged hawks which are not photographed because they are inside for the winter. 

Layout Of That Place I Work Now

Okay, so I want to give a quick lay of land of my new workplace. So after the gift shop you would see this area. That horseshoe is 17 gorgeous enclosures that house 26 exhibit birds. You'll notice in the middle lots of benches - that's called Hawk Fly, and it's where I will be doing raptor programs there when the weather is nice. 

This is the pavilion, which is all shut up now, but programs can happen there to if it is raining or something. 

The back of the pavilion also houses program birds. They aren't on display to the public, but in the summer there are 3 programs a day. 

Next is the administration building, which is also home to a classroom, and the education offices including mine :)

This is the songbird aviary, which has a variety of songbirds (duh) that have gone through the rehab center and are non-releasable for a variety of reasons. There is a pigeon, a cardinal, a lincoln sparrow, cedar waxwings, mourning doves, and an evening grosbeak. They are all cool. 

 This is the wildlife services building which includes enclosures for some program birds, as well as houses all the rehab facilities. The wooden structure in the right of the picture is part of the flight cage, where birds hoping to be released can build up muscles and prove they can fly. 

And finally on the virtual tour, is my house! This is where I live with the two other interns and Americorps member who are working at VINS as well. It's right across the highway so it's nice to be able to walk to work everyday.

Hiatus is Over!

Dear Readers, 

I am oh so sorry that I have not been posting. I got caught very caught up in adjusting to a new home and busy training at work. I also was attempting to get some good photos stockpiled to share. Then next thing I knew I was sick, and on a plane home to be with my family and say goodbye to my Grandma Jo. After more sickness and travels, I am finally back at work and in control of my health again. And I promise a handful of blogs as fast as my fingers can type and as fast as my computer will upload the pictures. 

I just wanted to share this photo of me and Grandma from New Years Day this year. She was an awesome lady, and she was a birder which makes her that much cooler. I am so blessed to have grown up close by and to have so many memories. But I'm most thankful for the time I got to spend her last fall. Our favorite pastime was definitely sitting and watching the chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, white breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers and tufted titmice that frolicked at her feeders. I always appreciated her listening to my stories and supporting me in all my adventures.