Contact Us
Nature Center Hours
VINS Nature Center
10 AM to 4 PM Daily
Wild Bird Rehab
802.359.5000 x212
8 AM to 4 PM Daily
Bird Research at the VINS Nature Center
Our work with avian wildlife in both the rehab and educational settings puts us in the unique position to study wild populations throughout the state. Our experience allows us to create unique projects that increase our understanding of avian species. We freely share our knowledge with anyone who may be interested and collaborate with other organizations in their avian studies. Details of our current projects can be found below.
VINS Research is conducting long term acoustic monitoring at the VINS Nature Center and at Old Pepper Place Nature Reserve. Microphones will be placed to record both nocturnal flight calls of migrating birds as they fly overhead and the dawn chorus of birds as they arrive in spring.
VINS is conducting surveys each spring to create a long term record of breeding birds on our campus. Eighteen plots are located throughout the center where staff monitor birds that are present throughout the breeding season.
VINS conducts hawk counts during fall migration at Mount Ascutney State Park in Vermont.
Data will be submitted in near real time to HawkCount:
https://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=815
The VINS Research Team, in collaboration with volunteers, is monitoring a network of American Kestrel nest boxes throughout the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Nest boxes are located on private property and are monitored by landowners or VINS staff. Nestlings from successful nests are banded by VINS staff prior to fledging.
Apply today if you would like to get involved with the project or have a location for a Kestrel nestbox.
Help support our work with American Kestrels by symbolically adopting a wild bird or a nest box. Funds go toward the costs of maintaining and monitoring our extensive nest box network.
VINS Field Biologists monitor raptor populations in Addison County by capturing, banding, and tracking individual birds. This ongoing research helps us understand population trends and assess the birds' health over time.
In collaboration with the Red-tailed Hawk Project, we've equipped several hawks with GPS transmitters: two Red-tailed Hawks in winter 2020 and five Rough-legged Hawks in winter 2021. By tracking these birds' movements, we're learning how different hawk species use Vermont's winter habitat, contributing to our broader understanding of their migration patterns and behavior.
Our field research team in collaboration with the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care seek to better understand blood parasite levels in Broad-winged Hawks. Wild, free ranging birds are trapped to collect blood samples that are compared to samples from birds that are in care.
VINS partnered with Hawk Mountain’s Broad-winged Hawk Project in 2023 and 2024 to outfit two Broad-winged Hawks with GPS transmitters. Track their movements here
VINS established an owl banding station on campus in 2024 utilizing protocols from Project Owlnet.
