“Statement from the Home Office at 11 A.M. today. Reports from all over the country are coming in hourly about the vast quantity of birds flocking above towns, villages, and outlying districts, causing obstruction and damage and even attacking individuals. It is thought that the Arctic airstream, at present covering the British Isles, is causing birds to migrate south in immense numbers and that intense hunger may drive these birds to attack human beings. Householders are warned to see to their windows, doors, and chimneys, and to take reasonable precautions for the safety of their children. A further statement will be issued later.”
Daphne du Maurier, The Birds (1952)
Something for the weekend. The opening sequence to The Birds (1963). I found this opening absolutely chilling as a child, and I still do as an adult.
Lol. Just yesterday I was on deserted beach in northeast Massachusetts, it’s cold this time of year but clear and beautiful. I shared a piece of the end of my lunch with a lonely seagull. In seconds there were dozens of very hungry gulls circling demanding a piece of my lunch that was now finished. It was a bit unnerving. Pretty sure if I was somehow knocked out, I’d be “lunch”.
The gulls will steal your lunch from your hands at the beach, but I am too tough to eat.
Gulls, the hoodlums of the avian world.
Don, it’s all Darwinian, survival of the fittest, and sometimes hoodlums don’t finish last.
PS…i didn’t bother to add (sar)
“In seconds there were dozens of very hungry gulls circling demanding a piece of my lunch that was now finished.”
“Mine!….Mine mine!….mine…mine mine mine!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=88&v=H4BNbHBcnDI&feature=emb_logo
That’s what I’m talkin’ about! LoL
Rats with wings, man; rats, with wings.
Talk about eerie – our town has had thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands (add a few more “and thousands” here) of crows descend upon it – at night, they all congregate down near the Muskingum River – filling up the trees that line the shores of the river. During the day, they are literally everywhere. Exceedingly creepy.
My town experienced something similar in 1996:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-02-13-9602130094-story.html
Eerie is the word.
They are very smart and have good memories. They use tools and can figure out complex problems. They have been known to add rocks to containers filled with water to raise the water level so they can access things floating in the water. They can recognize people’s faces. When certain people approached (a threat) they would fly away but wouldn’t fly way if they wore a mask.
I was told once to never let them hang around otherwise they will think it safe and others would come.
Sorry. I was referring to crows.
I saw the movie as a child; very scary! I still look at crows with a wary eye and always think of the movie when I see blue jays dive bombing at people’s heads to protect “their” territory. Spooky movie, especially the part where the birds attack the house…