It's raining birds

Julie Knight was startled when she came home to 75 dead starling birds on her door step.

Alison Sparkes, Animal welfare officer with the RSPCA, said, "Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrow hawk and ended up crash landing."

The birds were said to be seen falling onto the entrance of a house in Coxley on Sunday 7th March. There is no evidence the birds were ill or poisoned before they hit the ground.

"They appeared to be in good condition other than injuries that they appear to have suffered when they hit the ground.

She said that the birds had suffered abdominal injuries, broken beaks, legs and wings and that five of the birds survived the fall but had to be put down because of their severe injuries.