Millions of starlings spotted over Shropshire in marvellous murmuration
This is the moment up to five million starlings were captured sweeping over Shropshire.
Huge swathes of the songbird were seen flying over farmland near the A529 after heading for Britain from the colder climates of Russia and other Eastern European countries.
Keen birdwatcher Gerry Thomas, of Market Drayton, was on hand to film the marvellous murmuration which he described as one of the great wonders of the birding world.
The 70-year-old said: "It was an incredible sight and there were about twenty or thirty of us who were there to see it.
"They must have been up to about five million of them in the murmuration and must have been about 200 metres away.
"There was a real atmosphere to seeing them fly over our heads. I've been a bird watcher for fifty to sixty years and I've seen some incredible sights.
"Seeing the starlings is one of the best bird sights you can see in Britain, it really is one of the wonders of the birding world."
Black-coloured bulging waves of the birds can be seen weaving and winding across the grey and white backdrop of the Shropshire sky in Gerry's video.
At one point the starlings swoop right over the spectators, with some of them describing the scene as "phenomenal".
Some dive down into the shrubbery below, while others circle the site during their swooping movements.
Starlings take part in murmurations like this as a way to evade predators as it makes it much harder for birds of prey to attack.
They also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas.
The birds congealed in Shropshire due to the farmland making it happy a happy hunting ground for the Starlings.
Gerry said: "We had a lot here that have been roosting in Shropshire, but I expect there would have been a few that had also come from Cheshire due to the farmland here in Shropshire.
"They come over in the winter to get away from the colder weather in Russia and Eastern European countries like Lithuania and even Finland.
"Everyone really enjoyed seeing the birds, it is just a great spectacle."