A storm that lashed the Eastern Plains towns of Yuma and Wray on Monday evening with baseball-sized hail and torrential rain caused severe damage to buildings and vehicles and killed livestock, a report said.
The storm was so intense that snow plows and other road grading equipment were used to clear hail from the streets, according to 9News.
Nearly lost in the chaos was the death and injury of area wildlife, including turkey vultures perched in a community tree in Yuma.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife found 15 turkey vultures on the ground under the roost tree Tuesday morning, two of which were able to return to the tree and 13 that were rounded up and transferred to the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins.
Mike Tincher, rehabilitation and research coordinator at the center, said he tracked the storm cell as it approached the Eastern Plains because his experience has taught him that severe hail storms affect birds.
“When I look at a storm cell with one-inch hail, I know there’s going to be a lot of injured animals,” he said. “Four-inch hail and those animals will be killed. The roost tree in Yuma was a hit.”
He said state staff told him that turkey vultures in Wray suffered a worse fate, as many were killed by the hail.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife assembled a crew Tuesday morning to pick up the injured and disoriented turkey vultures in Yuma and met with Tincher and other center staff in Greeley for transfer to Fort Collins.
At the center, vultures were removed from crates and transport baskets and a triage team worked to identify birds, starting with the most urgent injuries.
“Imagine a field hospital,” Tincher said.
The vultures were given fluids and pain medication and moved to a quiet part of the center to await further investigation.
“They all suffered head trauma, bleeding from oral cavities, cuts and abrasions,” Tincher said. “Remarkably, only one vulture had a fracture in one of its wings.”
Tincher said Thursday that one of the vultures died.
He said the vultures will continue to be monitored and will likely be released when they are fully healed in the Yuma area. He said the first vultures could be moved by the end of next week.
The center said on its Facebook page Thursday that it took in 17 birds in a 24-hour period, putting a strain on its staff, facilities and financial resources.
“It’s a little busy right now, but we won’t push the birds out until they’re fully recovered,” Tincher said.
Tincher said the center receives about 85% of its funding from private donors.
The center is asking for donations to offset the costs of the bird plague in recent days.
“With the heavy storms so early in the season and the breeding season underway when birds of prey are at their most vulnerable, this is of great concern,” he said. “We’ll have to see how things develop in the coming months.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Turkey vultures among victims of devastating Colorado hailstorm
