I was just in my very own personal rendition of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie. At least…I felt like I was on the set. Getting home from work, I was greeted (read: accosted) by Chena, got changed, and then was sitting down to the computer when I heard a noise outside. Chena and I both went to investigate only to find the trees, yards, everything around us was completely SWARMING with birds. What kind of birds, I have no idea, but man were there a lot of them and were they ever LOUD!
I can only assume that they were headed south and decided to make a pit-stop in my development. Having been truly terrorized by an insanely loud bird who had decided to nest in a tree near her bedroom window this past spring, my roommate’s response when she saw the masses of winged beasts was one of minor terror. She threatened to call an exterminator, if it came to that. But I quickly reassured her since I was fairly certain they weren’t there to stay.
I managed to get them on video…sort of. It was my cell phone so definitely not the best video capture (and certainly nothing to rivial the camera angles and genius of Hitchcock), but I think you’ll get the idea. I managed to get some of them as they flew off which was pretty cool.
It has got to be the most birds I have ever seen at one time in my life.
They are starlings. They are in fact migrating north to south right now right down the Northeast. We have massive flocks of them in Beverly too – or at least we did a week ago when we left, now clearly they are down in your neck of the woods. We used to get them in such volume in Memphis that we called them the river of birds – one time we sat and watched them fly in a flock that took FIVE minutes to fly over us.
On a side note, a flock of starlings also once flew down our chimney when I was a little girl in Dresher. THey did this while we were on vacation – pooped eveyr where, had no food and then died. So we came home to a house full of bird poop and dead starlings. Wheeeee!
Nice video!
isn’t that really creepy sounding when they all fly like that? we had that happen down in VA last fall and it was a little overwhelming when you saw the mass volume of them! glad you are still safe & sound and they didn’t try to carry you away
@Es – Ah HA! Starlings! Of course. As soon as I read that I knew. I also seem to recall the great Starling Catastrophe of 1980-something. Good thing I don’t have a chimney.
@beck – Yeah, it was a little creepy. Chena was completely fascinated. She just sat there watching them all. I’m not sure she knew what to do… One bird she’ll chase, but a few hundred…she seemed to be aware she was outnumbered. We ALL were.
Were you ever around when we had hundreds- a thousand birds migrating at Hill Rd? They sat in every tree surrounding the mound in the backyard, made it look like black leaves all over the tree tops. The sound was near deafening and then they all took off. It was crazy… but not as crazy as the time 15+ turkeys that waddled all over the mound and then they flew into the trees and sat there like it’s normal that turkeys should fly 40 feet up in the air to perch on a branch. sure, why not? (what the..?)