Friday, February 08, 2008

A Hitchcock Moment

Monday February 4, 2008 - 6 P.M.

This afternoon around five as I sat working in what we laughing call the Office - in better days it would have been the maid's room, a very small maid I might add - I became aware of the most incredible sound. It was a buzzing, flapping, whistling noise that sounded vaguely familiar; somewhere I had heard that sound before. And then it hit me: The Birds! Tippi Hedren!



I looked out the back window and there were thousands of swallows: hundreds perching on, as hundreds more swarmed around and into, the surrounding pines tree. The noise was almost deafing. I ran for the camera but it wasn't until later I remembered the video feature and caught the tail end of the event. Laurent saw them heading up Via Nomentana towards Porta Pia and said it was like an enormous - very noisy - cloud.

Ten minutes later there wasn't a bird in sight nor a chirp to be heard.

4 febbraio - San Gilberto

7 comments:

evilganome said...

When it comes to noise, it's hard to beat chickadee's. It's amazing how much noise one tiny bird can produce.

sageweb said...

Wow they must be having a local swallow convention. That is amazing.

Sling said...

My Gawd!..That's creepy,and beautiful at the same time.

Doralong said...

Just don't start obsessing over the rear window of the apartment, OK?

Elizabeth said...

Amazing! The swallows returning to Capistrano sounds so poetic. But clearly it's a cacophony! And probably a mess down below.

more cowbell said...

Wow, that was fascinating. I'm with Sling; creepy and beautiful, both.

The other day, in a parking lot, the proverbial flock of seagulls was going nuts over some spilled food, as the son and I were driving. The car did not escape unscathed.

BigAssBelle said...

wow! that is amazing!!! i always think of swallows as such graceful, slient birds, swooping through the air to nab the occasional mosquito or gnat.

songbirds are dying off in massive numbers. i am delighted to see and hear this flock of sweet swallows. love those birds!