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Imagination and preparation are key to survival.

Nat’s family’s survival is the result of his imagination and preparation, two things the other characters in the story lack. Mr. and Mrs. Trigg, Jim, and even Nat’s own wife all fail to imagine the possibility of a bird attack. They either mock the idea, as Mrs. Trigg does, or dismiss it as too strange to believe, as does Nat’s wife. This failure to imagine the possibility forestalls any preparation these characters need to defend themselves. Nat, on the other hand, has the capacity to imagine novel threats, regardless of how silly they may seem. Once Nat is aware of the birds’ strange behavior, he allows himself to imagine the worst and looks for further clues that might indicate the level of danger. After his experience on the first night, Nat does not need any more evidence and he moves into full threat-assessment and preparation mode. 

Nat’s foresight allows him to shore up his resources, fortify the cottage’s weakness, and see to his family’s physical and emotional needs. The rest of the characters, through lack of imagination, don’t even properly grasp the situation and so they fail to prepare for it. Even once Mr. Trigg understands that the birds are a threat, his solution betrays a deep lack of imagination. One man with a gun has no chance of surviving against hundreds or thousands of birds. Mr. Trigg’s failure to imagine the scale of the threat leaves him unprepared for the attack, with tragic results. If Nat and his family are to stay alive, it will be because they can rely on Nat’s imagination and preparation.

Humans seek comfort in routine and familiar surroundings.

The way Nat and his family try to maintain calm during their harrowing experience shows that people seek comfort in the familiar and the routine. The bizarre reality of formerly harmless birds suddenly turning on humankind is disorienting for the characters in the story. This confusion is clear in the reactions of many of the characters, who either refuse to believe it or underestimate the implications. Once the reality dawns on them, it becomes clear that the threat will cause a major disruption to their lives and broader society. In this context, the routine and the familiar provide some measure of comfort, which Nat understands. 

Nat recognizes the calming effect of the simple act of making tea the morning after the first attack. The ritual brings Nat comfort and a sense of security. Jill’s carefree behavior on the way to the bus stop also shows the human tendency to maintain normalcy. Nat goes on to use this tendency to the family’s advantage. While the birds attack during the second evening, Nat repeatedly asks his wife and children to do every-day tasks, such as make supper, drink cocoa, and prepare the children for bed. Nat recognizes the kitchen as the safest place for the family to gather to wait out the attack, but the kitchen is also symbolically important. As a place of food, warmth, and familiarity, the kitchen represents safety. It is the place in every home where people gather and nourish their bodies and souls. Kitchens are the hearth and heart of a home, and Nat correctly perceives that hunkering down in the kitchen will help to keep his family calm. 

Humans are at the mercy of nature, and their tools are no match for it.

Human technology in the story is presented as woefully inconsequential compared with the raw power of the natural world. The relationship between man and nature early in the story is harmonious. Nat takes pleasure sitting at the edge of the cliffs and watching the birds as he eats lunch. He works on a farm, laboring closely with the land. A farmer knows the rhythms and rituals of the seasons, the plants, and the animals. The arrival of the deadly east wind represents a disruption to this harmony. The ground freezes, preventing farmers from tilling the earth or growing anything. The wind strips the leaves from the trees, as if stripping away nature’s veneer of beauty to reveal a brutal reality. The overall image is bleak and emphasizes just how much humans are at the mercy of nature. The east wind makes the world less hospitable for humans, less beautiful, less accommodating. 

In this context, the tools the characters use are exposed as pitifully useless. Nat picks up a hoe to protect himself, but he quickly finds that it does him no good. Mr. Trigg finds out the hard way that guns are useless against the birds. Nat struggles all day to fortify his cottage, but the birds manage to breach it after only a couple hours. The Army’s planes are ineffective against the mass of suicidal birds flying into their propellers. Even the wireless, the power of mass communication, goes silent. Most of the characters are taken by surprise at these failures, but Nat seems to grimly understand. His last moment in the story, when he enjoys his final cigarette, suggests that Nat understands there is no winning when nature decides to turn on humanity.

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