What a hoot: Donors rally for Vancouver Island bird sanctuary after storm destroys owl housing

A tree fell in the forest of Vancouver Island and everybody heard.

The Raptors Birds of Prey Centre in Duncan has found big success with a crowdfunding campaign to repair its owl aviary, demolished by a falling tree during B.C.'s devastating windstorm on Dec. 20.

The campaign set out a goal of raising $2,000 for the repairs, but as of Jan. 2 it had raised $7,260 in 10 days.

"We're still feeling incredibly grateful," the centre'sRobyn Radcliffe told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

"So grateful to the community for supporting us through this. It's pretty amazing to see how it's exceeded the goals."

No owls were injured when the large tree crushed their cage. The four birds three barn owls and one great grey owl are currently in temporary housing.

'We heard this huge crack'

Radcliffe said the moment the tree crashed through the wood-and-wire mesh aviary was a surprising one.

She said staff were at the sanctuary but weren't sure how bad the storm would get.

"It picked up pretty quickly," she said. "We heard this huge crack and went to check it out and discovered this tree lying on several of our aviary.

"We were just dropping everything and ran straight there."

Radcliffe saidthe actual costs of the repair will be between $5,000 and $10,000. Approximately 70 per cent of the cleanup work from the tree damage has been completed, she added.

Despite the damage, she said the centre's team wants to quickly get back to their mission of educating the public about birds of prey and the plight that many species of them face around the world.

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With files from CBC Radio One's All Points West