ROOK at that!!

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The Birds: But don't worry, it's just 50,000 rooks chatting on the party line

 

 

 

By Luke Salkeld

Last updated at 7:16 AM on 08th February 2010

 

 

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For a bird watcher it's an impressive sight - rooks gathering in their thousands, their weight straining the telephone wires.

But for a movie fan, it's a rather more ominous spectacle - recalling scenes from the Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Birds.

In the 1963 film, gulls and crows line the wires over a Californian town before descending to attack the people below.

 

 

 

Enlarge Safety in numbers: Rooks at a pre-roost gathering in Yare Valley, Buckenham, Norfolk

The rooks in this picture were among some 50,000 who later flew off to roost in woods near a railway line in Buckenham, Norfolk.

 

Professional photographer David Tipling captured the image.

He said: 'There may be record numbers here this year. Because of the cold weather it is harder for them to feed, so it makes sense for more of them to join the roost.

'It's an incredible sight - and the noise is extraordinary.'

Experts believe they gather in such large numbers to exchange information on feeding sites.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249279/The-Birds-But-dont-worry-just-50-000-rooks-chatting-party-line.html#ixzz0eweaStHY