Colorado hailstorm severely damaging to buildings, vehicles and turkey vultures

A storm that pounded the Eastern Plains towns of Yuma and Wray on Monday night with baseball-size hail and torrential rain caused severe damage to buildings and vehicles and killed livestock, according to one report.

The storm was so severe, snowplows and other road graders were used to clear hail from streets, according to 9News.

Nearly lost in the chaos was the death and injury of wildlife in the area, including turkey vultures roosting in a communal tree in Yuma.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife found 15 turkey vultures on the ground Tuesday morning under the roost tree, 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 severe hail storms impact birds.

"When I look at a storm cell with 1-inch or 2-inch hail, I know there will be a lot of injured animals,'' he said. "Four-inch hail and those animals will get killed. The roost tree in Yuma had a bulls-eye on it.''

He said state wildlife staff told him turkey vultures in Wray suffered a worse fate as many were killed by the hail.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife assembled a crew to gather the injured and disoriented turkey vultures in Yuma on Tuesday morning and met Tincher and other center staff in Greeley for transfer to Fort Collins.

At the center, the vultures were removed from crates and pet carriers and a triage team worked to identify birds starting with the most pressing injuries.

"Picture a field hospital,'' Tincher said.

The vultures were given fluids and pain medication and moved to a quiet area of the center to await further examination.

"They all suffered head trauma, bleeding from oral cavities, lacerations and abrasions,'' Tincher said. "Remarkably, only one vulture had a fracture, to one of its wings.''

Tincher said Thursday one of the vultures died.

He said the vultures will continue to be monitored and will likely be released when fully healed back in the Yuma area. He said the first vultures might be moved by the end of next week.

The center said on on its Facebook page on Thursday it took in 17 birds in a 24-hour period, which put a strain on its staffing, facilities and financial resources.

"Things are a little crowded right now but we won't push the those birds out until they are fully recovered,'' Tincher said.

Tincher said the center receives around 85% of its funding from private donors.

The center is asking for donations to help offset he cost from the flurry of birds in recent days.

"With severe storms this early in the season and with nesting season ongoing when raptors are most vulnerable, it has us very concerned,'' he said. "We will have to see how things flesh out over the next few months.''

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Turkey vultures among victims of devastating Colorado hailstorm