One or the other will think of the horror film by Alfred Hitchcock when reading this title. In September 1963 the film «The Birds» came to the cinemas This film came to my mind when a huge flock of mountain jackdaws landed in the meadow in front of our chalet. But first things first…

When we returned to the Bernese Oberland from our stay in the Zurich region on April 3, 2023, the snow had melted. Where there was still snow when we left, we now saw green mats. But it had gotten really cold and the ground was frozen. So, it was important to provide food for the feathered friends. We already had an aviary; Now all that was left was to fill it up and hang it up. (Who is surprised that Brigitta took over – smile!)

We waited for what was to come. At first it was sparrows. Then came tits, a black redstart and a pair of colored goldfinches. Then the sky suddenly turned black. The songbirds fled when a black flock of around a hundred alpine choughs approached. Some of them perched on a wooden fence, others on the roof; and a detachment carried out an attack on the aviary. It wobbled alarmingly when several of these black birds clung to it. Within five minutes the food source had dried up and we were an experience richer.

PS. Since that first «attack» the black birds have been coming back every day to see if there’s anything to eat again! If you want to know more about the sociable mountain jackdaws, the best place to read is here.