MONTECITO, Calif. — Birds of a feather flocked together in a California home -- but that’s because they were trapped in a chimney.
Nearly 1,000 small birds were trapped in the chimney of a Montecito home Sunday night, KTTV reported. In a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 horror movie, “The Birds,” the avian invasion began April 2, and the birds continued to fly into the small area, the Montecito Fire Protection District said in an Instagram post.
“We lost count after 800,” Kerri, a resident of the home who asked that her last name not be revealed, told KTLA.
Kerri said her family came home from dinner to find the flock swarming inside their residence after flying down their chimney, the television station reported.
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“It’s so hard to explain,” Kerri told KTLA. “If you don’t see it with your own eyes, you’d never believe it.”
Firefighters and staff with the Santa Barbara County Animals Services had hoped for the birds to fly out of the flue on their own overnight, KTTV reported. By the next morning, the birds were still trapped at the base of the fireplace, the television station reported.
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Workers designed a chute system that funneled the birds from the fireplace to the home’s back doors, where they flew to freedom, according to KTTV.
“Every day is different in the fire service,” the Montecito Fire Protection District wrote on Instagram.