It’s not only Loyola students who have to worry about knowing their limits with alcohol.

Drunken birds around campus are stirring up some discussion among professors who have witnessed the small, winged creatures fly into the windows around campus.

The trees in the Palm Court produce small, purple berries during early spring. The berries aren’t harmful to the birds or to humans when eaten in moderation.

The birds, however, tend to overindulge.

After about three weeks, the berries ferment, becoming alcoholic. Cedar waxwing birds frequent the trees and tend to feed on the berries until they’re full. They become slightly intoxicated from the berries and as they prepare to fly away, they tend to take a wrong turn.

Similar to college students who drink too much alcohol, these birds begin running into trees, statues and, most commonly, large windows. The harm comes once they hit the window. Most of the time, they fall about 30 feet, lie on the ground for a bit, and then flap their wings spastically and take flight. There are times however when these birds hit the windows, break their necks and die.

Robert Thomas, interim director of the School of Mass Communication, has counted up to eight dead birds outside his window in one day.

“Birds always fly into windows. They are flying at full speed and just don’t have enough time to stop,” Thomas said. He recalled the spring of 2007, when nearly 100 birds were found dead around campus from flying into windows.

Thomas said Loyola should cut the berries off of the trees after three weeks to prevent the bird deaths.

“We would have hardly any dead birds on campus if we get rid of the berries before they become a danger to these creatures,” Thomas said.

He plans to hang a silhouette of a predatory bird in his window so the birds will turn away before smashing into his third-floor window.

Katy Bodin can be reached at [email protected].