The Conservancy’s aviaries sustained major damage in the aftermath of winter storm Alfred when nearly twenty inches of heavy, wet snow fell within a few hours in late October.  The unprecedented snow caused aviary netting to rip open, fence poles to buckle, and tension cables to snap.  Four of our large aviaries collapsed despite valiant overnight efforts by our staff and volunteers.  While the aviaries could not be saved, the quick actions of the staff and volunteers saved the lives of hundreds of birds.  Bird losses were minimal, and I deeply grateful to everyone for their dedication and hard work. 

In the weeks after Alfred, we have been working every day to repair the aviaries.  The amount of work has been tremendous, starting with removing torn netting and damaged  wire, to replacing fence posts and support poles.  We are making progress but we have a long way to go. The big push has been to get the support posts and wire in the ground before the ground freezes, so we can install new netting and ease the overcrowding of birds in the remaining aviaries.  The cost of the reconstruction has been tremendous as it exceeds $25,000, and the unexpected expense has put a serious strain on our budget.  As many of our neighbors have discovered, insurance coverage after this type of storm is limited.  LRWC will be shouldering a substantial amount of the reconstruction costs. 

Below are pictures of the aviaries the morning after the storm.