GRAFTON – The Berkshire Bird Paradise’s two bald eagles escaped harm when three feet of heavy, wet snow severely damaged their new home in last week’s storm.
“We lost our eagle enclosure. It was a big project,” Peter Dubacher, founder of the bird sanctuary nearly 50 years ago, said Wednesday about the wrecked structure.
The eagles, nonetheless, stayed put and rode out the storm of March 14-15 in their damaged enclosure. While the aviary wasn’t lucky, the eagles definitely were — and were rescued, Dubacher said.
The Berkshire Bird Paradise has set up a GoFundMe account entitled “Help the sanctuary rebuild!” Not only does the eagle aviary need to be fixed, but major repairs are required for a 5,600-square-foot greenhouse and two smaller greenhouses. Dubacher estimates that one-third of the large greenhouse is damaged.
“We’re going to rebuild it,” Dubacher said.
While there is structural damage, none of the sanctuary’s 500 birds were harmed by the storm, Dubacher said.
The GoFundMe site was set up by Liz Dubacher, who works with her father at the 20-acre property at 43 Red Pond Road in rural Rensselaer County. Their goal is to raise $5,000 to help with the repair costs.
“My goal is to protect what he’s created and maintain this,” Dubacher said regarding her father’s work over the decades.
“We’re trying to get as much support as we can,” Dubacher said.
The higher costs of building materials have the father and daughter team considering how to proceed. They’re confident that they can recover from the snowfall. They’re seeing an outpouring of support from the surrounding community and promises to help with the work once it begins later this spring.
“I am so proud of my fellow brothers and sisters who live in Grafton and Petersburgh…
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