Birds are Getting Drunk in Minnesota
Yes, birds are getting drunk in Minnesota. Yes, their actions are similar to ours when we've had a few too many. Yes, you will giggle and fell sorry for them at the same time reading this.
Residents in Gilbert, Minnesota have made several reports to police of birds running into their windshields, home windows and flying erratically according to the Washington Post. Why? The birds are getting drunk from eating berries that have fermented too early.
There has been an early frost in the area, causing the early fermentation, and all the birds haven't moved South yet.
Police Chief Ty Techar said, "It appears that some birds are getting a little more ‘tipsy’ than normal. Generally, younger birds’ livers cannot handle the toxins as efficiently as more mature birds. There is no need to call law enforcement about these birds as they should sober up within a short period of time."
Come on robin, gotta spend some time in drunk tank.
The Gilbert Police department released this statement on their Facebook page:
The article mentions that in Portland, Oregon, the local audubon society has a "bird drunk tank." Birds are turned in that have flown into windows or other things, the bird is held until it sobers up then is released back into the wild.
As long as no one sees birds loading themselves into a sling shot going after pigs, I think we'll be ok.