"Birdnado incoming": Video shows thousands of tree swallows taking flight in Massachusetts

A scene right out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" was captured on the North Shore of Massachusetts. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior shared video Tuesday of a "birdnado" showing thousands of tree swallows taking flight at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Newburyport. The agency explained that the marshes of the federal conservation area are the perfect place for the birds to rest and fill up on insects and berries as they migrate south for the fall.

"When enough swallows show up at once, migration starts looking a lot like Twister... the original... not the remake," the department said.

Mass Audubon says tree swallows are one of the most common nesting birds in the state, "and during fall migration, huge flocks gather along the coast." During the summer, they can be seen by the hundreds perched atop telephone wires near the shore, the organization says.

In the winter, the swallows can be found between the southern United States and Central America.

The Parker River National Widllife Refuge was established in 1971 and is home to more than 4,700 acres of wetlands, beaches, dunes, forests, bogs, salt marshes and mud flats. It's a popular spot for bird watching and photography, as more than 300 species of birds can be found at the refuge, including the federally protected piping plovers.

The refuge is open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset. It's located off the Plum Island Turnpike about 35 miles north of Boston.