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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOLUMBINE EAST LONG TERM CARE - FDP - 11-05A - MEDIA - (3)A pair of month -old great homed owls are being cared for at the Rocky Mountain Raptor program after being recovered from a hollowed - out portion of a cottonwood tree cut down Wednesday on South Lemay Avenue.The owls were living in the tree, but city crews did not know they were there when they cut down the 70- year-old trees. Rich Abrahamson The Coloradoan r , d�RS 4J ~xr � x fi pry.- 4�,;�~��.. Pair check into bird hotel ByKEVINDARST S/+1`�/Lr� KevinDarstQa coloradoan.cdm A pair of month -old great homed owls are recovering at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program after the hollow cot- tonwood branch they were liv- ing in was cut down by the city Wednesday aftemoon. The young owls, which fell 20-25 feet y while still in the branch, appeared healthy but were on a food strike Thurs- day, said Judy Scherpelz, ex- SCHERPELZ ecutive direc- tor of the raptor program, which rehabilitates injured raptors. `i"hey're scared and mad and not very thrilled about being in captivity," Scherpelz said. They'll likely remain in cap- tivity until they can be released into the wild in September, she said. The owls' home was part of six cottonwood trees along South Lemay Avenue the city cut down Wednesday. The trees, which are on prop- erty under development by Columbine Health Center, were hollow and unsafe to leave next to a major roadway, said city forester Tim Buchanan. When crews surveyed the cottonwoods two weeks ago, looking for bees, birds and the condition of the trees, they did not see the owls' nest in the branch cavity, Buchanan said - Buchanan said he was "just as upset as everyone else" about the incident It's against the law in Col- orado to disturb raptors. When companies, individuals or cities want to remove a tree with raptors, they have to find a new home for the birds and have them relocated, said Shane Craig, a Fort Collins - based district wildlife manager with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Craig, who was called to the scene Wednesday afternoon, said from what he could tell, the city did what it could to look for the birds before it cut down the trees but that the nest was diffi- cult to see. Great homed owls, which live throughout North America, are considered a healthy species. They're not listed or proposed for listing on the endangered species list Want to help? To contribute to the Rocky Mountain Raptor program, visit httpV/RMRP.org or call 297-0398. - 40 great homed owls each year, making the owls the program's f , / biggest client The young owls ' i 1 delivered to the program Wednesday are the first this year, Scherpelz said. There are three options for ' "* '• the young birds, she said. If their parents build a new nest in nearby trees, the family could be reunited. The program v could also look for area nests with other month -old owls and place the displaced owls with a Rich AbrahamsorvThe Coloradoan foster family of sorts. More likely, however, is that L Reed, a volunteer at the yDseY the owls will be cared for by a Rocky Mountain Raptor Pro- captive owl and trained to hunt gram, holds a baby owl as it is by the raptor program, then re- examined Thursday. leased in September. It could cost about $3,000 to But their habitat is dwindling care for and train the birds until in urban areas, Scherpelz said. their September release, Scher - "As we do more and more de- pelz said. velopment, this type of thing is The raptor program's going to happen more," Scher- $300,000 Dual budget is fund- pelz said. ed by donations, merchandise The program cares ior to sales and speaking fees.