Violent spring weather has been especially hard on winged residents, injuring and orphaning countless birds, according to the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins, which is caring for 32 raptors injured when a tornadic storm ripped through Weld and Larimer counties May 22. Twenty-one of the birds were admitted between last Tuesday and Friday.
Feeding nine birds that came from the Windsor area until they are returned to the wild is expected to cost $9,000, said Bob Francella, the center’s director of public support. A great horned owlet can consume five to eight mice a day. “At $1.50 a mouse, it adds up in a hurry.”
The organization is asking for help. Cash donations can be made on its website, raptor rehab program goes through about 4.3 tons of meat a year, Francella said.
