ST. MARIES, Idaho — A devastating wind storm has left Birds of Prey Northwest facing extensive damage and searching for missing birds that escaped when trees crashed into their aviaries.
Around 25 trees fell at the St. Maries sanctuary during the storm, damaging multiple aviaries and the director’s home. The sanctuary now echoes with chainsaws as volunteers clear debris.
“I’ve been here 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Janie Veltkamp, founding director of Birds of Prey Northwest.
The damaged enclosures allowed several birds to escape before they were ready to return to the wild.
“We lost a small kestrel, a merlin, and the small pygmy owl. So there’s a small chance we could get them back,” Veltkamp said.
One tree crashed directly into Veltkamp’s bedroom, but she considers the sanctuary fortunate since staff were off-site conducting educational programs when the storm hit.
“We were off site with the educational birds doing programs, and so we’ve been spared, too. The house can be repaired, and we’re happy to be here to talk about it,” Veltkamp said.
Volunteer Margo Wolf described the impact on remaining birds: “They’ve seen weather before, but, I’m sure it was really frightening and disturbing for them.”
Some birds remain trapped in their aviaries by fallen trees, complicating rescue efforts as staff work to safely extract them.
The nonprofit organization relies entirely on donations and urgently needs financial support for cleanup and reconstruction efforts. The storm damage threatens to disrupt essential wildlife rehabilitation services during a critical time.
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