While we were grumbling, songbirds were dying

The late, cold spring did more than try the patience of Minnesotans: It killed scores of songbirds in the northern two-thirds of the state.

Since last week, state Department of Natural Resources officials have received many reports of dead swallows, bluebirds, kinglets, sparrows, robins and warblers.

They apparently starved to death because of a lack of insects caused by cold weather and late-April snow. The large-scale bird die-off, which has ebbed now that the weather has warmed, was unusual, officials said.

"I don't remember anything quite as dramatic,'' said Carroll Henderson, DNR nongame wildlife program leader.

Henderson said the area from the Twin Cities northward was affected.

Mike North, who works for the DNR's division of ecological resources, put up nesting houses on his property nine years ago. He said he has never seen anything like this.

North, of rural Brainerd, spotted a lethargic tree swallow sitting along a county road and suspected trouble. When he checked his nesting boxes, he found 19 dead tree swallows.

"One box had nine dead birds in it, huddled together, apparently trying to stay warm,'' he said Wednesday.

At Crow Wing State Park, 27 swallows and two bluebirds were found dead in nest boxes.

Mary Ernhart of Elk River found four dead swallows in a park in Otsego, and her neighbors counted another half-dozen dead birds in their yard.

"It's really sad,'' she said.

Snow was the final blow

The cold spring meant that migrating songbirds found few insects when they arrived. The final blow probably came when a foot or more of snow hit northern Minnesota on April 25 and 26.

The Brainerd area got 6 to 8 inches, North said, but much more fell farther north. Insect-eating birds simply couldn't find food, and starved.

There's no way to know how many birds died.

"It could easily be in the thousands, based on the reports we've received,'' Henderson said. He urged people with bird-nesting boxes to check them and remove any dead birds so later migrants can use the boxes. (Also, report any banded birds found, he said.)

Henderson said recent warmer weather has melted snow and encouraged insect production, meaning birds probably can find food now.

Humans can't really help

But there's really nothing people can do to help hungry insect-eating birds, he said.

Henderson said he is not sure how the die-off will affect songbird populations over time.

Numbers should bounce back

"It may depress numbers in Minnesota in the short term, but they should bounce back,'' he said.

Said Ernhart: "There were a lot of swallows -- we were so excited to see them back. Now we're seeing very few.''

Doug Smith • 612-673-7667