Frequently asked questions

36 - Q : Were birds affected by the ice storm?

A : There is no simple answer to this. First, not all areas were affected to the same extent. Freezing rain fell hard and heavy for several days in some areas but was more irregular in others. Even the most hard-hit areas show differences in the way the various habitats were affected by the freezing rain, depending on the nature of the habitats themselves, the species and age of the trees, and the exposure to wind and rain.

The various species of birds that winter here in those habitats were also affected to different extents, depending on whether the birds were able to find shelter and an adequate source of food. Some passerines, for example, because of their small size and high metabolism, have little or no energy reserve, and have to eat almost daily to survive, especially in very cold weather. Conifers and holes in trees may have provided good shelter from the freezing rain for some species, although some holes were covered over with a heavy coating of ice, fatally trapping some birds.

Because the effects of such unusual weather are impossible to imagine, the impact on resident bird populations cannot be determined without a proper on-site evaluation.

It is possible that some species of birds, such as woodpeckers, could benefit in the coming months: many injured trees will likely fall prey to insects, so woodpeckers' reproduction, which is linked to insect availability, could increase. But these are only suppositions that would need investigation.

Of the birds that went south for the winter, some returning species will find their maple stands, for instance, unrecognizable. But, without adequate study, it is impossible to assess the impact on avian reproduction.