Hitchcock's The Birds

I've touched on this before so think of this an extended version. I love the Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Birds. The basic premise of the movie is simple. The small coastal town of Bodega Bay is besieged by attacking birds. Birds do attack. I've been dive bombed by overly protective birds when walking past a tree where it's newborns are nesting. It is a scary feeling as you hear the clap of their wings and feel a peck on your head. I've even witnessed a bird fly into a window.

Universal backlot 1962

I've always dreamed of visiting the town of Bodega Bay in Northern California the second I saw the movie. One of my "must-do's" was to walk up the street where Melanie drives to find directions to the Brenner home at the general store and to have lunch at the Tides and make a phone call from the telephone box. All this was back in the early 1980's when I was much younger and stupidly naive. The dream of putting myself in The Birds died a sad death the day I purchased the DVD back in 2001. Watching The Making of The Birds (a great bonus feature I must add) there my dream died, much of Bodega Bay was the Universal Studios backlot.

Universal backlot 2005

In 2005 I was lucky enough to grab a capture of what I originally thought was Bodega Bay. The location looked remarkably the same all these years later. It was only after I returned home I discovered I'd captured the Birds location.

Universal Studios 2009

In 2008 Universal Studios suffered a fire losing much of their New York sets. The Birds location (one of Universal's original western sets) was spared. However, a decision was made and the black fish market facade was removed making way for a park. The facade of The Tides restaurant, phone box gas station no longer remain. The general store and saloon remain, a legacy of Hitchcock's, The Birds.