Where Hitchcock got the idea in real life for the story behind ‘The Birds’

In the summer of 1961, before Alfred Hitchcock ever fitted a mechanical gull into a telephone booth, nature staged its own horror show. In the fog-drenched hours of August 18 in Capitola, California, thousands of sooty shearwaters – seabirds normally content to paddle offshore – launched a surprise “attack.”

The Birds inspiration for Hitchcock

They crashed into houses, swarmed cars, pecked at windows, and disgorged half-digested fish on lawns. One stunned local patrolman later said the assault was so fierce he feared stepping out of his car.

Hitchcock, ever the opportunist of uncomfortable situations and stories, was living nearby. He learned of the spectacle from local newspapers and reportedly rang the Santa Cruz Sentinel to request copies of the reports. He told them it was “research material” for his developing thriller.

Though his film would shift the setting north to Bodega Bay and use Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story ‘The Birds’ – which he’d secured the rights to – as its spine, that real-life bird scare seemed to whisper, “Here’s your opening act.”

• When Hitchcock scared the hell out of one actor

What actually caused the birds to go crazy?

Decades later, science offered a grim twist: the birds weren’t demented conspirators, just victims of neurotoxins. In analyses of archived marine samples, researchers found evidence of domoic acid – produced by toxic algae – that can cause disorientation, seizures, and erratic behavior in marine life. In other words: the birds weren’t evil, just baffled.

Like many movies that seem incredible, there can be an element of truth to the storyline, with directors the likes of Hitchcock being masters of poetic license.

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