Category Archives: Wildlife

BURLINGTON — The Vermont Department of Health says more people are reporting cases of bats flying through open windows and doors and getting trapped inside homes.
Public Health Veterinarian Robert Johnson says the hot weather, bugs and open doors and windows might explain the sightings. He says if a bat is found in a room with someone who was sleeping or if a bat is found in the same room with an unattended child, it should be safely collected for rabies testing.
Only four of the 65 bats tested so far this year have been positive for rabies.

ST. JOHNSBURY — The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife has reopened 11 cliff areas across the state to hikers now that peregrine falcons have finished their nesting period.
Fish and Wildlife Biologist John Buck says the young peregrines have developed, and nesting data suggest the species had a very good year. The nesting sites are monitored from March to the end of July. The cliff areas were closed to hiking in May.
At least 40 pairs of peregrines occupied Vermont’s cliffs in early spring and summer. Preliminary results indicate at least 39 of them nested, with 28 pairs successfully producing at least 60. That’s a 44 percent increase in nesting pairs a 55 percent in pairs producing young birds compared to last year’s season.

The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife said 11 cliff areas across the state are closed to hikers because peregrine falcons are nesting nearby and humans could bother the birds.
Fish and Wildlife biologist John Buck said peregrines have been observed nesting at about 40 locations across the state but only the 11 are located where there’s a chance people could disturb the nesting birds. Continue reading →