Thousands of starlings take flight in Peak District

A huge starling roost, which has appeared over land in the Peak District, has proved a hit with visitors.

Every evening since November, birds have returned from their daytime feeding grounds to roost in a reedbed on land near Cavendish Mill at Stoney Middleton.

Taking to the sky in their thousands in a process called murmuration, members of the public have come to witness the spectacle.

Tim Birch, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Manager, says: “Sights like this really are one of the most amazing wildlife spectacles on the planet and this particular roost is of county and national significance.

"At times it has been estimated that there have been nearly one hundred thousand birds here. These sites are incredibly important for starlings and given the dramatic drop in their numbers in the UK in recent years we need to do all we can for these birds.”