Going for a snowy walk the othe rday I had a Hitchcock horror movie flashback… In the treetops above my head, there was very loud chattering going on. Looking up one tree I was rather surprised to see it full of magpies. Not sure if they were having choir practice or some sort of conference… ; ) In my experience, magpies don’t often appear in big flocks like that – a whole tree full. Then I looked at the birds in a couple of other trees nearby. The sounds coming from there were a bit different. Crows, or jackdaws... Anyway, both groups of birds seemed to be doing their best to be as noisy as possible – and I got a definite feeling of hostility in the air!
Refreshing my memory on the Hitchcock movie in Wikipedia just now, I find a recent paragraph added at the end of that article, informing me that the BBC is making a television series out of 'The Birds', to be broadcasted in 2018 - set in Cornwall, and based more on the original Daphne du Maurier novelette than Hitchcock’s movie. Perhaps these birds were auditioning for it…They certainly did put up quite a show!
That would have been a bit spooky. I'm not overly fond of crows.
ReplyDeleteI hope you made a fast getaway without getting pecked! Magpies are so clever. OH, I hope I get to see the new series! We have BBC America.
ReplyDeleteThey usually don't particularly like each other, since they are also partly competitors for the same type of food, nesting trees and so on. But it is indeed rare (in my area, at least) to see so many magpies together; they often come in couples, but not an entire colony.
ReplyDeleteHere, you can often observe crows trying to chase off (mostly successfully) a bigger bird of prey such as a buzzard. Their tactics normally involves at least two crows flying close to and diving at the buzzard, until he gives up and leaves their territory.
Meike, I have often seen magpies and crows fighting/competing about some piece of food they found on the ground - but those have been "individual" quarrels rather than proper wars... ;)
DeleteI was surprised to experience bird violence (cannibalism of a sort) in a little park in the middle of the town.spooky atmosphere in your photos.
ReplyDeletei was so relieved to find a story of The Birds. when i saw Hostility in the Air i was afraid something bad happened in your beautiful town. the birds scared me silly when i saw it the year Hitchcock made it. i have a fear of birds from 2 years old due to attack by a rooster at 2 and a turkey gobbler at 8. i was in my teens when i saw the movie. i can tell you several trees like this would make me think about it even now.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I first saw the movie in my teens as well, together with two girlfriends. At one of the most intense moments (when they're all inside the house waiting for the birds to attack), one of my friends made a silly comment which set all three of us giggling - and probably irritating the rest of the audience no end! And I still remember our inappropriate laughing fit better than the actually film story!
DeleteAmazing that you'd find two or more bird species making loud noises in trees. Perhaps they had been spooked, by a much more dangerous creature than you, just before you saw them.
ReplyDeleteHitchcockian horror is much more exciting than an animal passing by, however! Very interesting photos.
Kay
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
The impression I got was that the hostility was between the two groups of birds rather than a united front against someone or something else... (But what do I know!)
DeleteI had a recent experience mush the same as yours. So many birds - starlings I think. Loud - SO loud!!
ReplyDeleteI'm visiting from the Mad Snapper and am now your newest folower!
Welcome, Linda, and thanks for visiting :)
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