Messy downside of the starlings' flight fantastic

And huge flocks of starlings have been delighting residents each evening for about 45 minutes around St Peter's Park in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, since last weekend.

But while the unusual sight has generally been welcomed, people have also been left with a visible reminder of the visits with houses and cars under their flight path getting covered in bird mess.

Christine Massey, who lives in nearby Adswood Grove, said thousands of birds, believed to be starlings, have been descending on the area each night between 6.15pm and 7pm all week.

"I think Saturday or Sunday was the first time we saw them," she said. "Somebody said there seems to be about 20,000."

Mrs Massey, who is retired, said she has lived in the area with her husband Peter for the last 38 years and had never seen anything like it.

She said the birds generally descend for just a short time, but on one night had been around until almost midnight.

Mrs Massey added that while the birds are an 'amazing sight', they were also creating something of a mess on nearby houses and cars – with some people even choosing to venture out with umbrellas to prevent being splattered.

"We cleaned the car on Wednesday and by 7pm, it was just bad again. It is just such an amazing sight that it doesn't bother me. I did notice a lady walking down with an umbrella to protect herself," she said.

"We have lived here 38 years and never seen anything like this."

Giant starling flocks, which are known as 'murmurations', are regular spectacles in the UK during the autumn and winter months.

According to the RSPB, starlings join forces for several reasons, with grouping offering safety in numbers from predators, keeping them warm and letting them share information about good feeding areas.

Johann Holt, from the RSPB, said: "In many cases they are like clockwork – you know that at a certain time in the evening the sky will start to turn black and it's mesmerising watching the flock grow and grow."