On Tuesday, Jane and I enjoyed our trip to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science which specializes in rehabilitating raptors. All the birds on exhibit cannot be returned to the wild for some reason, whether having a missing or injured wing, brain damage, being imprinted on humans etc. Their talks are informative, though for the winter, they only present one bird per talk. We first saw a barn owl.
Barn owl.
We walked through the exhibits, and saw owls, ravens,
Barred owl
Ravens
Hawks,
Red tailed hawksRough-legged hawkBroad winged hawk
and eagles.
Golden eagles
Bald eagle
Bald eagle
We took a walk on the trails including the canopy walk which puts you 30-70 feet in the air, near the tops of the trees.
The tower on the canopy trail.Eagle sculpture on the canopy walk
We went back to another informative talk on the Harris hawk. This hawk lives in the Southwest and often hunts in packs.
It has been an interesting few weeks since my last post. My sons visited from Portland, OR. My husband had a heart attack (he is doing well). Instead of a week at Squam Lake we had planned, I was there for just 2 days. But I have been able to paddle my kayak and see some wildlife.
North Hartland Lake closed for the season on Labor Day. We went out on that Saturday and caught our last peeks at the eagles, cormorants and of course turtles.
Cormorant on the boom at North Hartland Lake. 9/5/20
Immature eagle and its parents. North Hartland Lake, VT 9/5/20Painted turtle. North Hartland Lake, VT 9/5/20
The ducks are molting into their breeding colors.
Wood ducks. Mink Brook, Hanover, NH 9/13/2020
We found herons on all 3 of the rivers we paddle.
Green heron. Mink Brook, Hanover, NH 9/13/2020Green heron. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 9/10/20Great blue heron. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 9/10/20
and small birds and large.
Phoebe with web. Mink Brook, Hanover, NH 9/13/2020Broad winged hawk. Ompompanoosuc River, 9/8/20
We saw a muskrat for the first time this year on the Pompy.
Muskrat. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 9/10/20
and a young deer running across the playing field at Kilowatt Park.
Deer. Kilowatt Park, Wilder, VT 9/14/20
The most unusual animal we saw was a Northern phalarope as it was passing through. It nests in the Arctic and winters to the south.
Northern phalarope. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 9/10/20Northern phalarope. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 9/10/20
