Hundreds Of Birds Dead Following Hailstorm, WildCare Oklahoma Caring For Survivors

Hundreds of birds died in Oklahoma City following a hailstorm over the weekend, prompting a wildlife nonprofit to care for the dozens of survivors.

The bird carcasses can be seen scattered all over Southwest 3rd Street near South MacArthur Boulevard, as well as in the various parking lots along the road. While the exact number of dead birds was unknown, it appeared there were hundreds of carcasses concentrated in that area.

“Kind of a little bit in shock just with how many there were," said Elise Gundlach, director of animal care at WildCare Oklahoma, a nonprofit based in Noble that provides medical and rehabilitative care to injured animals. "And then, it was immediate response. So we tried getting our volunteers out there. We contacted Oklahoma City Animal Welfare."

Ultimately, WildCare Oklahoma took in 74 surviving purple martins from that area. Some of them suffered broken wings and other trauma.

"We assessed the more critical ones first, get any other injuries treated. If we had to humanely euthanized them, that's what we would do," said Gundlach. "There's a lot of head trauma cases where they maybe have eye injuries now or are just are dazed and confused."

After treating the various injuries, WildCare staff and volunteers began feeding the birds mealworms and insects every hour.

Other birds rescued from the same area in Oklahoma City included great-tailed grackles. Due to the traumatic injuries they suffered, WildCare Oklahoma placed them in a chamber that provided concentrated oxygen to help them recover.

"(Sunday), they were not standing. (Monday), they are. So that's a sign of improvement. We've also been seeing some of them start to eat on their own," said Gundlach.

In addition to the birds, WildCare Oklahoma took in numerous other animals that were impacted by the weekend storm, such as baby skunks that were flooded out of their den. In all, the nonprofit took in about 170 animals on Sunday.

With the influx of animals that need attention and the large amount of mealworms that must be purchased for the birds, WildCare Oklahoma is welcoming donations. Contributions can be made by visiting www.wildcareoklahoma.org/donate. Monetary donations can also be mailed to 8505 Wildwood Ln., Noble, Oklahoma 73068.

Anyone who finds an injured bird should put them in a towel-lined box and bring them to WildCare Oklahoma, which is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.