Angry Birds - 1961 Sooty Shearwater Attack on Capitola

Use my link to install Angry Birds Friends for FREE: rov.io/historyguy and enjoy popping those piggies!”
On August 18, 1961 the Santa Cruz California Sentinel reported a startling event: “Residents, especially in the pleasure point and Capitola area, were awakened about 3 am today by the rain of birds slamming against their homes.” The 1961 Sooty Shearwater attack on Capitola, that possibly inspired one of the most famous “natural horror” movies ever made, deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #Birds

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Use my link to install Angry Birds Friends for FREE: rov.io/historyguy and enjoy popping those piggies!”

[@johna1160]

Fun Facts - Hitchcock owned a ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains and used the Santa Cruz coastline as a substitute for English backdrop for his film Suspicion. His film The Birds was shot up the coast in Bodega Bay. Capitola Village is currently in recovery mode after being severely battered by storms in January.

[@highplainsdrifter9995]

Scott's Valley.... he also had a great car collection there too. He had the James Bond Aston there. After moving it and denting the aluminum body, it was brought to my weld shop to repair. Hitchcock loved that area.

[@CFITOMAHAWK]

@@highplainsdrifter9995 Did you use the Smoke Curtain feature ?

[@highplainsdrifter9995]

@CFITOMAHAWK Not sure what that is! 🤔

[@markhasleton6403]

To the best of my knowledge you're wrong. The script was based on a short story by famous English author Daphne Du Maurier , published well before 1961.

[@tomadkins2866]

"I hope you enjoyed this episode..." I enjoy every single episode, even if it's not something I'm particularly interested in at first. Thank You so much, THG.

[@29madmangaud29]

Wow, as a kid, growning up in Western California, I remember the movie the BIRDS, and how much it scared myself and brothers and sisters, but I never KNEW that something like that really actually happened.

[@jonathanperry8331]

I've had something similar happen to me walking to school as a kid. I don't know what kind of birds they were but there were hundreds of them and it was like a tornado coming down the street and surrounded me. The only assumption I could make things that they were trying to mate. It was springtime so they made their way up here.

[@Zorglub1966]

This movie scared generations of kids worlwide!

[@jonathanperry8331]

@@Zorglub1966 hey do you have turkey vultures where you live? Those bastards are huge and they also stalked me and my friends. They are weird because they migrate backwards. They are usually here in the winter. They are smart as hell though. They know the trash day is on Monday and Thursday and they will be sitting outside on the neighbor's roof waiting for any trash bag they could get ahold of.

[@scotcoon1186]

I don't watch horror films. I can't do it without picking apart the poor decision making of the characters, and the complete lack of situational awareness.

[@Torby4096]

Mom was sure "The Birds" would be too scary for me. She was right about a lot of things. I turned 5 in '63.

[@sonyascott6114]

NO ONE can tell a story like the history guy.Many thanks,for yet another exciting episode of history.

[@PlanetEarth3141]

Sonya, a troll who exaggerates.

[@christopherbrochu7492]

something else some of y'all might find interesting - shearwaters are unrelated to gulls. They're more closely related to albatrosses, and they're part of a group called "tubenoses" - if you look closely at the face of a shearwater or albatross, you'll see a tube extending along the top of the beak right in front of the eyes. It holds a gland that excretes the excess salt the birds ingest when they catch fish.

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

@Christopher Brochu so, they cry?

[@yoinkhaha]

Running into things, barfing and invading people's space... this kind of just sounds like normal sea gull activity to me. 😕

[@goodun2974]

Growing up on the shores of Long Island sound we considered seagulls to be no different than flying rats.

[@hoodagooboy5981]

It's normal activity for the street people in San Francisco also.

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

ROFLMMFAO my husband drives to the landfills regularly, and has told me that on any given day, at every hour, at _least_ a half million birds are flying, swooping, waddling around the incredibly gargantuan heaps of trash. He suspects some of them are ingesting things that cannot be healthy. Many have been quite belligerent towards the huge vehicles, some even staring down the vehicles like an inebriated person(and unnerving some drivers - it's been advised to not hop out of the cab of the truck unless _absolutely necessary._

[@littlewingmyoho]

!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

Or in Capitola's neighbor, Santa Cruz.

[@orbyfan]

According to Donald Spoto's biography "The Dark Side of Genius," Alfred Hitchcock had purchased filming rights to Daphne du Maurier's short story before seeing an article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel in April 1960 about an incident where 1,000 birds suddenly went down the chimney of a house, "destroying most of the household goods and grotesquely injuring the housewife when many of them were caught in her hair." Hitchcock reread the du Maurier short story and didn't see a film emerging from it, but was inspired to go back to it in 1961 after reading the Sentinel's report of the shearwater attack. I can imagine a song title based on this incident: "When the Shearwaters Return to Capitola."

[@crackerjack9320]

Crazy! We had family in capitola, yet nobody ever told us this story.

[@-oiiio-3993]

I lived there and never heard this.

[@oldschoolman1444]

I grew up in Corralitos in the 60s and never heard it.

[@lauriesmith3443]

My sister in law was watching The Birds late one night alone in the dark. I don't know how he did it, but her husband got a bird and threw it into the room at an opportune time. You can imagine what happened. He got the bird out without harming it, but I'm not sure how he fared after my sister in law figured out what he had done. 😂

[@littlewingmyoho]

😂😂😂😅😅😅😆😆😆

[@quillmaurer6563]

This has to be among the best fitting sponsor arrangements I've ever seen! Fascinating story, glad there was closure at the end - would have driven me mad otherwise! I live in Colorado, far from any coast, but sometimes I hear and see signs about toxic algae in ponds, with signs warning not to wade or let dogs swim in them.

[@carolynhowk146]

I tried to convince THG to cover the Pig War for this sponsor... but he decided the real Angry Birds was far less well-known.

[@CaspergerTheAwkwardGhost]

I live in colorado and used to live in capitola

[@drlong08]

Another great knowledge nugget! This helps me maintain my reputation at home as Cliff Claven. Thank you!

[@spencergay8283]

Thanks for clarifying the Hitchcock connotations. As always quirky and interesting..

[@koriw1701]

FYI: Here's a quick look into life in Washington; Spokane isn't pronounced spo-KAYNE, it's spo-CANN (like in "a metal can")

[@stevesaunders5219]

And 900 miles north and 200 miles inland (strange source for Capitola, CA reporting)

[@mousetreehouse6833]

Koriw, Thanks, I'm always interested in how the native pronounce their cities and towns. (In Maine, Bangor is pronounced BANG-gor - hard g sound on both syllables, and not ban'ger). Thanks for letting me get THAT off my chest 😀😁😉.

[@EricsTechTalk]

What's weird is he's done a story on Spokane before, and he pronounced it right then if I remember correctly.

[@littlewingmyoho]

My family lives in Spokane ...I love it there .Looking forward to my next visit 😍

[@littlewingmyoho]

Ps CHOWDER HEAD has the best soup and sandwiches there and my favorite waitress works there ...highly recommend 😍

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

The birds read the book and were like hey! Let's do this!

[@stevedietrich8936]

I can only imagine the stink around Santa Cruz, post invasion. A couple of thousand large seabirds just rotting in the city dump, and probably washing up on shore for days.

[@scottmccloud9029]

Probably no different than today.

[@jameswolf133]

Not to mention the vomited sardines!

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@scottmccloud9029 Says Faux 'news'.

[@AdrepKeith]

I had a similar incident in the 1970s but not as big. I had a home in Los Altos CA. One day there were several loud crashes in my living room. I rushed in there and a flock of Robins were crashing into my big picture window. Then other birds as well. I walked into my yard and there were birds just standing around on the ground, lots of birds. Thrushes, Robins, Cedar Waxwings. Then I saw the cause. We had a large Pyracantha bush right there with birds in it. The birds were eating and getting drunk on the fermented berries which were about the size of a big Blueberry. I don't remember seeing any casualties. It was pretty weird.

[@lizj5740]

Same thing used to happen with the pyracantha hedge my mom planted. Every year: drunken birds.

[@westzed23]

Here in Canada I've seen birds drunk of eating fermented Rowen tree berries. There weren't that many but they flopped down into the snow and staggered around.

[@chevystuffs5971]

Capitola resident here. I really appreciate you covering this story!

[@CaspergerTheAwkwardGhost]

Former Capitola resident here. Hope you’re drying out!

[@williamharvey8895]

This episode was for the birds.

[@sparkythesecretsquirrel4013]

Only Hitchcock could film birds gathering on a jungle gym and make it terrifying.

[@ChiefMac59]

I lived in Santa Rosa abet many years after the Birds was made. Went by a lot of the landmarks used all the time. The Tides restaurant was torn down and replaced while I lived in the are by a tourist trap. Later I lived in Monterey and worked at UC Santa Cruz. Knew of the movie by not the Capitola attacks

[@theoldgrowler3489]

This was truly for the birds!

[@denniswhite166]

@Aqua Fyre and The Old Growler deserve each other 😝😝😝

[@roseb3164]

@@denniswhite166 yes...for making such fowl jokes... (Don't blame me. It had to be said. 😉)

[@goodun2974]

Hitchcock decided to make a movie based on this incident because, as he said at the time, one bad tern deserves another!

[@roseb3164]

@@goodun2974 And movie-goers flocked to see it! 🙂

[@stevenlubick2689]

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦 They were looking for Alfred Hitchcock 🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

[@jameswolf133]

The original short story ‘The Birds,’ by Daphne du Maurier, was first published in 1952, not 1957.

[@georgemckenna462]

Thankyou, It's on KZbin audio books.

[@BinaBecker]

We studied it in high-school English class. It's definitely a classic in the horror field!

[@paulkinzer7661]

Another trip into a story I knew nothing about. Not the incident, nor its ominous cause. Thanks for enlightenment!

[@TwistedSCREWTVG]

Fantastic story telling!

[@jetsons101]

As a little kid I watch The Birds on late night TV with my brother, boy did we have a hard time falling asleep. Thanks to THG for another fine watch.

[@davidwevans4132]

I stayed up with my older sister, watching that movie. Same, we both had trouble sleeping. We both quit watching those types of movies!

[@PlanetEarth3141]

Hitchcock's methods and style for making movies had a dramatic effect on Hollywood history. There are only three other Directors that have accomplished that if you leave out exaggerated, flattering tributes. Those are Stanley Kubrick who imo is the greatest director ever, John Ford and Sam Peckinpah.

[@jetsons101]

@@PlanetEarth3141 Love John Ford movies.

[@jetsons101]

@@davidwevans4132 We weren't supposed to watch it, but it was OK with our babysitter, our mom and dad never found out.....

[@rossr100]

I've seen these birds starting their migration north, from New Zealand. An amazing sight, streams of birds for days on end.

[@gmello831]

Born and raised in Santa Cruz remember my mom and uncle telling us kids about. They were kids when it happened

[@peerpede-p.]

I never forget Old Alfreds movie The Birds, that was/is a masterpiece.

[@stuartriefe1740]

Good morning to you, Mr. Sin City! Class is in session, time to settle down!

[@raydunakin]

Fascinating. I've heard of other incidents involving starlings flying down chimneys, etc but I don't recall ever hearing of this particular bird "attack".

[@R_C420]

The state park officer was named *Birdman* This odd event probably made him an Angry Birdman.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Bergman.

[@brucekaren6693]

Fascinating. Thanks!

[@PinguimFU]

and the BEST segway to a sponsor ABSOLUTELY GOES to The History Guy =)

[@bloodwrage]

Installed it. I need to learn how to tie a bow tie before I purchase one, though.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

It is the same knot you use to tie your shoes.

[@harryschaefer8563]

The mass madness reminded me of a story I heard about an entire village gone mad when wheat in storage was infected with ergot fungus, everyone in the village ate bread made from the grain and suffered hallucinations.

[@josephpadula2283]

Basically LSD!

[@JuanCarlosCoreaBarrios]

Ergot poisoning outbreaks have actually been reported multiple times since the middle ages, the latest was in 1952 in France when a baker used contaminated rye flour to avoid taxes. Actually, the culprit is usually contaminated rye, wheat flour containing the fungus is usually discolored and inedible.

[@justinklrjms]

Thank you, it was fun to listen to a local story on the history guy

[@OldMan_PJ]

You know you've made it when you get an Angry Birds sponsorship.

[@deborahcaldwell9775]

Well, I certainly did enjoy that presentation. Thank you very much.

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you, thank you for making content.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

📣Back in the Saddle Again Naturally

[@johncloptop1585]

Thank you for another excellent video.

[@sus8e462]

I doubt it's a coincidence that this story about bird attacks was sponsored by the game Angry Birds... Well done, sir!

[@JohnsonChristopher1]

Watched on Rumble, left a like and a comment to help you with the KZbin Algorithm. God bless...

[@mattgeorge90]

Excellent episode!

[@charlesneilio7861]

I grew up in a town that had a fair amount of maw berry trees. Every summer when the maw berries dropped and fermented on the ground the birds would eat them and get drunk and fly right into the side of houses and garages.

[@randallmarsh1187]

Are you talking about Mayhaw or Mulberry trees?

[@glenmartin2437]

Interesting story. Thank you. Thanks for the chemistry lesson.

[@philwelch2447]

Imagine living through the shock and terror of a birdemic.

[@TreeSawyer]

I live 20 minutes from Capitola, in Ben Lomond. You can see it on the map you showed. I Take my kids to the beaches in Capitola all the time. Never heard this story. Glad I have now. Thank you sir.

[@punditgi]

Most informative!

[@jliller]

Angry Birds sponsoring a video about angry birds may be the greatest sponsorship synergy ever.

[@carolynhowk146]

too good to pass up, for sure!

[@tonyk1584]

Tried desperately to work "flights of fancy" into a comment, but alas, my creative juices never go off the ground.

[@rhuephus]

maybe cuz it kept crashing INTO the ground .. and houses .. and people

[@annakeye]

I saw that wry smile at the end Lance, when you said, "[...] birds might attack again, in the future".

[@seatedliberty]

Listen to my story, a tale most heroic Of the battle with birds afflicted by the acid demoic They came out of nowhere, dropping from the sky The reason unclear- no one knew why They pecked with their beaks and they swatted with their wings Never before had Sooty Shearwaters been such dangerous things But their reign of terror was short lived, the horror soon ended Though riddled by stench, the town was defended And I heard an old man exclaim as he gazed at the moon “If I never see a Sooty Shearwater again, it will be much too soon”

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

*applauds*

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

That's a nice bit of prose. Is that an original creation or does it have another origin?

[@seatedliberty]

@@michaeldeierhoi4096 Thanks- for better or verse, it is entirely my original creation.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@seatedliberty You clearly have a talent for writing.

[@markymark3075]

Very interesting, thanks.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

That is when the F in KFC 🍗 meant Fighting Foul-mouthed!

[@goodun2974]

"Killer F----ig Chicken"?

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

I wonder how many times something like this happened in the distant past, that we don't know about. Surely the problem existed before 1961.... The Birds made a strong impression on me as a little kid--my parents took us to the drive-in to see it in the late 60s. I think it's a little odd that they thought The Fall of the House of Usher would be too scary for us kids (we were told not to look at the screen while it was playing--but, since their attention was on the screen, I managed to watch it anyway--I love Vincent Price films), but The Birds was just fine. I think that's what started me being a Hitchcock fan.

[@crispy6311]

Such an appropriate sponsor for today's video. Lol

[@simonolsen9995]

Interesting. I'm an old guy living on coastal NSW south of Sydney. As noted, these birds, traditional known here as Mutton Birds, nest in Tasmania (Bass Straight Islands) and migrate up the coast. for 50 years I've been observing large numbers of them washing up dead every now and again. Always wondered why. Thought it was storms. This has me wondering.

[@be6715]

Were they called that because they were eaten like mutton?

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@roberttaylor7637]

Wild! This was very neat

[@TheBoatPirate]

Awesome history story! I never knew of this. I lived there over 20 years ago. Guess where? On a boat! That would have been epic to see.

[@blackbuttecruizr]

Mr. History Guy... Spokane is pronounced "Spo-CAN" 😉

[@PopeSalty1]

At the 5:45 mark: "...With 'The Sentinel' quoting park ranger Niles Birdman that..." . Niles Birdman, huh? In a story about a bird attack? Hmmm... Are we sure this isn't just Alfred Hitchcock in another one of his famous cameo roles?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Niles Bergman.

[@timmmahhhh]

Uncanny timing of this we finally watched The Birds two weekends ago as my sister in law was saying how scary she found this movie when it came out. And I saw on Wikipedia how this incident happened two years prior and the book the movie was based on before that Minor spoiler ahead: I can't tell you how upset I was on the lack of a fitting conclusion to the movie, but this video let me know that they didn't really know at the time either. Thanks, Lance!

[@Habibi1010]

I was born and raised there but never heard of this event. Thanks for the history lesson.

[@jasonwomack4064]

A swarm of sickly birds. Sounds like a devious plot by the car wash industrial complex.

[@darkmist65]

I found this episode very interesting and i enjoyed it

[@markdodd1152]

I had never heard of that species of bird. But I'm not on the West Coast . Although that happened one day before I was born in Glendale California . And grew up in Michigan since I was 2 1/2 . Great story sir

[@williamjones3462]

Being sponsored by "Angry Birds" I love it😅🤣😂

[@neilperry2224]

Good afternoon to you sir, is there any chance you could do a video on the poem High Flight written in the Battle of Britain. By an American Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee Jr, who unfortunately died in the air battles over England.

[@johnopalko5223]

That's probably my favorite poem, but Magee did not die in combat. He was on a practice flight when he, along with three other Spitfires, dove at high speed through a break in the clouds and collided with an Airspeed Oxford trainer flown by a pilot from another airbase. Magee was an Anglo-American, born in Shanghai, China, who was flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force because the United States had not yet entered the war. He was in his tenth week of active service when he died. He was 19 years old.

[@rtelles1127]

Well I think I'll go watch The birds tonight

[@MrMatteNWk]

Said one resident: "I need the biggest seed bell you have. No.... that's too big..."

[@barto4678]

I like what you did with the Angry Birds sponsor

[@russhall856]

Fascinating 👍

[@THEScottCampbell]

Dave Crosby was one of The BYRDS. He lived on the Pacific Coast and over-ate most of his life. This might explain his crazed behavior and short-term memory loss. 🎸🎤🎵

[@hoodagooboy5981]

Whenever we visit family in San Antonio at certain times of the year, birds will line up on the power lines and in the trees around sunset. I think they are waiting for the bugs that come out at that time, always reminds me of the movie The Birds.

[@v.e.7236]

THG in my backyard! The most beautiful spot on planet Earth - the Monterey Bay.

[@PlanetEarth3141]

Having been to Monterey it's indeed quite beautiful. On the other hand, I disapprove of ultimate platitudes as quite dumb. Maybe you should see Yellowstone, the Great Pyramids, the Amazon, the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, The Alps, Greece, Hawaii, Scotland, or another dozen places you've never been before deciding where your at is best.

[@-oiiio-3993]

I am a former Santa Crustacean, now in the southern Sierra Nevada.

[@v.e.7236]

@@PlanetEarth3141 Been to all of those locations and several more, except Scotland. Still treasure my Monterey Bay above them all. My Precious! Gollum! Gollum! ggg

[@PlanetEarth3141]

@@v.e.7236 I can't blame anyone for loving their homeland above all. I just don't like superlatives like best, greatest, etc. It is a subjective statement, not fact. Grace be yours at home.

[@justintyme720]

I live in Santa Cruz California....people are crazy around here lol

[@DeconvertedMan]

Everything was fine until the BIRDS attacked! :D

[@jbart1411]

Wow, truth is really stranger then fiction

[@toddclean547]

Domoic acid is a constant threat to clam diggers in Washington State. Clam seasons are routinely shut down when levels are too high.

[@senorbe]

Wow this reminds me of Birdemic - Shock and Terror which was filmed just 15 miles up the coast

[@jakeeschen7868]

Hitchcock was a seasonal resident of the Santa Cruz area. The estate he financed to make Psycho, as seen in Hitch, was just north of the city.

[@Nerathul1]

Okay, this is the funniest choice of sponsor.

[@NozomuYume]

Yup, this event is definitely responsible for inspiring the most famous movie about killer birds of all time: "Birdemic: Shock and Terror".

[@glencrandall7051]

Never heard this story before.

[@elcastorgrande]

"Truth is stranger than fiction."

[@patrickfreeman8257]

"Merely a coincidence" that is the worst James Stewart impression I've ever heard

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

LOL

[@alanmoffat4454]

WELL THATS ONE FOR THE CATS , BUT POOR HUMANS ARENT WE .

[@Paladin1873]

So the birds were on an acid trip. How Californian of them.

[@valeriehowden471]

I get nervous when I see 2 or more crows/ravens perched on a swing set. Do love that movie! I have enjoyed watching robins and the like overinduldging on fermented crabapples. They just slowly fell off the fence + slept it off to fly another day.

[@snailem3722]

i live in santa cruz. this is exciting.

[@peterjamesfoote3964]

Ok, you got me. I’ve become pretty immune to game download requests but I’ve never seen such a well researched video to provide a backdrop to a game. When the video started I had two theories, some kind of magnetic interference by temporary tectonic forces messing with the birds sense of direction or some kind of biological or industrial poison. Thanks for a great video.

[@westzed23]

I too will download this game.

[@motoross9237]

I’m an early bird

[@drawn2myattention641]

If memory serves, Hitchcock had a special fondness for Northern California, and owned a vacation home not far from Santa Cruz.

[@NoahSpurrier]

Perfect sponsorship!

[@georges3799]

My sister-in-law is terrified of birds. This event would be her worst nightmare.

[@Alexander-fr1kk]

Love your channel, how about doing a show on the Jennifer Project…

[@stevepercival4774]

Called the mutton bird in New Zealand good tucker for the Māori