DALLAS (NEXSTAR) — Birds, bats and other wildlife appear to have taken a beating during the winter storm and deep freeze in the southern U.S.
Scientists say it might take weeks or months to determine the extent of the harm. But dead robins and other songbirds are being found on yards and sidewalks. And rehabilitation specialists are nursing starving bats found on snow-covered grounds.
A Mexican Free-tailed bat struggles to stay alive after falling from the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Birds, bats and other wildlife appear to have taken a beating during the winter storm and deep freeze in the southern U.S. Scientists say it might take weeks or months to determine the extent of the harm. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Diana Foss, Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist attempts to find any surviving Mexican Free-tailed bats in a pile of dead bats at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Foss said that the winter bat colony is about 100,000 and that during the summer the colony has about 300,000 bats. She said they were able to find about 20 bats that have fallen from the bridge that were still alive and they are attempting to save. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
FILE – In this Feb. 16, 2021, file photo, thousands of Atlantic green sea turtles and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from cold stun are laid out to recover at the South Padre Island Convention Center on South Padre Island, Texas. As many Texans hosted neighbors who had no heat or water during the vicious February storm, numerous types of wildlife are believed to have taken a beating from the cold snap. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP, File) 
Diana Foss, Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist places live Mexican Free-tailed bats in a box at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. She said they were able to find about 20 bats that have fallen from the bridge that were still alive and they are attempting to save. Birds, bats and other wildlife appear to have taken a beating during the winter storm and deep freeze in the southern U.S. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Buffalo Bayou Partnership director of Public Relation and events Trudi Smith tries to save Mexican Free-tailed bats after falling from the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Diana Foss, Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist said that the winter bat colony is about 100,000. She said they were able to find about 20 bats that have fallen from the bridge that were still alive and they are attempting to save. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Diana Foss, Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist attempts to find any surviving Mexican Free-tailed bats in a pile of dead bats at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Foss, said that the winter bat colony is about 100,000. She said they were able to find about 20 bats that have fallen from the bridge that were still alive and they are attempting to save. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
A Mexican Free-tailed bat barely hangs on under the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park after being impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Birds, bats and other wildlife appear to have taken a beating during the winter storm and deep freeze in the southern U.S. Scientists say it might take weeks or months to determine the extent of the harm. ( Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
Buffalo Bayou Partnership director of PR and events Trudi Smith tries to save Mexican Free-tailed bats after falling from the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, where it was impacted by the winter storm Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Houston. Birds, bats and other wildlife appear to have taken a beating during the winter storm and deep freeze in the southern U.S. Scientists say it might take weeks or months to determine the extent of the harm. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Experts say migratory birds in the region don’t fatten up for winter because the South usually has mild weather and plentiful food.
Jane Tillman, a volunteer who works with the Travis County Audubon Society in Texas, told Nexstar’s KXAN that some bird populations may have died during the prolonged, record-breaking cold snap.
“We also have birds that come in for the winter and several of those have died… from lack of food and probably the cold,” Tillman said. “Really, it was just a widespread disaster.”
The Texas Wildlife Department is cataloguing sightings of deaths among birds, bats, fish and other animals after the subfreezing cold gripped the state for days.
Tillman said some of the birds may have succeeded in flying further south, but it’s not clear if they made it to safety since the cold also affected northern Mexico.
Naturalists are also concerned about the habitat for monarch butterflies and other vulnerable species.
Officials say there may be fish kills in some waters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
