A Texas parking lot recently gained traction on social media for its unmistakenly Hitchcockian ambiance.
As caught on camera by Yvone Gomez, a flock of great-tailed grackles — also referred to ominously as a “plague” — took over a parking lot in Cypress. Gomez and other bystanders were stunned by the congregation of hundreds of black birds, a scene that she described as “straight out of a Hitchcock movie.”
Famed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock released The Birds in 1963. It tells the nightmarish tale of birds going on a murderous rampage in a small Northern California town. These fiendish villains are not only undiscerning in their attacks, targeting children on playgrounds, but are also clever, infiltrating homes through chimneys.
While birds aren’t usually something to fear outside of the cinema, some individuals have an anxiety disorder called ornithophobia. Anything from the sound of wings fluttering to a bird sculpture can trigger it. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 5 teens nationwide suffer from phobias such as this.
Yet there is no reason to fear great-tailed grackles, a species commonly found throughout the southern United States.
In Texas, the sleek birds with a characteristically brash squawk are a common sight in winter, as they typically migrate southward to escape the cold, as previously reported in The Dallas Express. Their tendency to swarm is a unique characteristic, even though the sight of thousands of grackles might make one feel like The Birds‘ heroine, Melanie Daniels, played by Tippi Hedren.
Grackles can be a nuisance, though, especially for farmers who have recently seeded their fields.
Although several deterrents, such as laser pointers, noisemakers, or even larger birds of prey, are out there to prevent grackles from “plaguing” properties, their efficiency is questionable.
“These birds were not scared as I honked,” remarked Gomez, according to Storyful.
