Hitchcock's "The Birds" A Reality For Town

[matcom]

<snip>

TWIN FALLS -- As dusk descends upon downtown Twin Falls each day, so do the crows -- thousands of them.

It's a real-life Alfred Hitchcock movie, the rerun of which begins at about 5:30 and goes into late evening. By midnight the trees in the parking lots along Second Avenue West look like solid black balls, said Karla Williams, downtown business district director.

"They even make that clicking sound," said Magic Valley Bank employee Kay Gabica, alluding to the scene from "The Birds" when actress Tippi Hedren barricades herself in her home while outside the sky becomes ominously black before birds begin slamming into the house with full force.

It's been about a month since downtown workers began coping with their own bird-blackened sky. In the past week various agencies have begun marshaling forces to bring to some order back to downtown. It's none too soon for people who are downtown every day. People who have been downtown for decades say they've never seen anything quite like this.

Susan Bench, who also works at Magic Valley Bank, said getting to her car after work is an adventure.

"I was standing under the awning last night waiting to run to my car, and I could hear the bird splats," she said.

Thousands of large birds can turn a parking lot into a corral in only one night.

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate/index.asp?StoryID=13372

[burythehatchet]

1. crows are friggin NUTS

for the past three days there's been one that has tried to pick a fight with a cat, a dog, a window, an AC unit. It's the same damn crow that does it. Screams that awful sound all day while its mate just sits nearby and waits. Its bizarre. I'm getting my slingshot ready (sorry crow lovers). What a horrible sound they make.

[CabalPowered]

2. I work in downtown Twin Falls..

If the city would demolish a nearby, burnt-out grain elevator, there wouldn't be a problem. Flocks of crows and pigeons feast for hours on the leftover grain, while an obvious hazard to the public is left standing. :eyes:

[amazona]

3. Oh ho I have a theory

Whenever you see a large gathering of crows that is making noise, check around for an owl. They keep tabs on owls and "mob" them so everyone knows where the owl is. They pretty much "talk" constantly to each other about any owl they spot.

I'm betting in addition to the grain that attracts the crows for food, they are kept stirred up and noisy because they are also keeping track of an owl. Maybe a Great Horned Owl or a Barn Owl. If there is a safe place to watch the tower, maybe check it out. I have had pretty good luck finding owls this way. Especially Barns.

On Edit -- forgot to mention I have not visited the town of Twin Falls specifically but I've seen any number of both owl species in Idaho. It is something to look for if you have a chance before the crows get scooted off.

[CabalPowered]

4. Mostlly barn owls here..

Hey you raise a good point, I hadn't thought about that. Ironically, my family owns the tallest building in TF and is right next to the grain elevator. I converted the top floor to a loft and lived there for about a year and distinctly remember there being owls in the elevator. The city kicked me out a couple of years ago because I didn't have a fire escape, so I'm not sure if there's any resident owls left since the elevator burned.

Personally, I loved having the flocks around. The loft has floor-to-ceiling windows and about every half hour the flocks would do a flyby.