Starling spectacle has drawn crowd

Residents from a Telford housing estate are dashing outside each evening equipped with umbrellas to watch one of nature's greatest spectacles - a swarm of starlings ready to roost. Many thousands of birds can be seen wheeling above Donnington before diving down to perch on a tree.

Carol Athersmith, 51, of Baldwin Webb Avenue, husband Mark, 42, and children Laura, 24, Katy, 20, Rebecca, 15, and 14-year-old Tammy are enthralled by the nightly display. "All our neighbours go outside to look at the starlings and we all think it's fantastic," she said. "Thousands of them weave about the sky - I'm amazed that they don't crash into it each other. They don't make a sound - that's the spooky part."nextpage