--- title: Drunk Birds Are Flying High in Gilbert, Minnesota description: Drunk birds unable to handle their alcohol (from fermented berries, that is) are causing a ruckus in a small Minnesota town. canonical: https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-04T15:47:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-17T15:11:40.000Z og:title: These Drunk Birds Are Flying High Around Town og:description: Flying under the influence og:url: https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22ec1dc756877307/69893c1197cdfff6bf6b66ab/gettyimages-1026894364.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: American Robin bird perched on a tree branch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Drunk Birds Are Flying High Around Town twitter:description: Flying under the influence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22ec1dc756877307/69893c1197cdfff6bf6b66ab/gettyimages-1026894364.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Drunk Birds Can't Handle Their Alcohol, Are Flying Under the Influence Around Town  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 17, 2024 3:11 PM UTCPublished: Oct 4, 2018 3:47 PM UTC  American Robin bird perched on a tree branch. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) American Robin bird perched on a tree branch. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)Roberto Machado Noa—LightRocket via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 17, 2024 3:11 PM UTCPublished: Oct 4, 2018 3:47 PM UTC A flock of drunk [birds just looking for a good time](http://time.com/4853922/bird-study-ravens-planning-intelligence/) out on the town is disrupting the peace of Gilbert, Minnesota. In Gilbert, an early frost has [fermented local berries](http://time.com/5022813/worlds-oldest-wine-georgia-grapes/), leading to young birds getting drunk from eating them. This, in turn, has led to unorthodox behavior from these winged residents: flying lower than usual, crashing into cars and windows, and losing their balance. In a statement posted to the town police’s Facebook page, Police Chief Ty Techar explained that these intoxicated birds would be sobering up soon. “The Gilbert Police Department has received several reports of birds that appear to be ‘under the influence,’ flying into windows, cars, and acting confused.” Techar then explained that the problem may appear more pronounced this year not just because of the early frost, but because many of the birds had not migrated south yet. “It appears that some birds are getting a little more ‘tipsy’ than normal,” Techar wrote. “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.” The statement ends on a humorous note, advising Gilbert residents to alert the police department if they see “Tweety acting as if 10 feet tall and getting into confrontations with cats” or “any other birds after midnight with Taco Bell items.” Drunk Birds Are Flying High in Gilbert, Minnesota ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/"},"headline":"Drunk Birds Can't Handle Their Alcohol, Are Flying Under the Influence Around Town","datePublished":"2018-10-04T15:47:44.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-17T15:11:40.000Z","description":"Flying under the influence","url":"https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22ec1dc756877307/69893c1197cdfff6bf6b66ab/gettyimages-1026894364.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22ec1dc756877307/69893c1197cdfff6bf6b66ab/gettyimages-1026894364.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"American Robin bird perched on a tree branch","caption":"American Robin bird perched on a tree branch","creditText":"Roberto Machado Noa—LightRocket via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5415378/drunk-birds-minnesota/","name":"Drunk Birds Can't Handle Their Alcohol, Are Flying Under the Influence Around Town"}}]}] ```