200 starlings drop dead from the sky on to Pembrokeshire road 'after huge electrical-type bang' - leaving drivers fearing they were in a 'horror film'

• e-mail

Wildlife lovers were stunned after 200 birds mysteriously dropped dead from the sky in a seaside village.

Traumatised drivers said it was like watching 'a horror film' when seeing the starlings fall to the ground for no apparent reason.

Witnesses said injured birds were scattered in hedgerows and on the ground and council officers cleared bloodied bird bodies from the road.

Officials confirmed around 200 starlings had died after being found near the villages of Waterston and Hazelbeach, Pembrokeshire, this morning.

Bird expert Dominic Couzens, 59, told MailOnline: ‘They were probably startled by something, maybe a loud bang.

‘Something unexpected made them disorientated and then they flew into something.

He added: ‘It’s very odd. It’s very strange. It’s not something that’s easily explained.

‘It could be some misadventure. They could have done something daft. They’re not perfect. It’s all speculation.’

Officials confirmed around 200 starlings had died after being found near the villages of Waterston and Hazelbeach, Pembrokeshire, this morning

Why the birds died remains a mystery and the RSPB said investigations were underway to determine the deaths

Witness Claire Eaton said she saw the birds fall begin to fall from the sky on Thursday night and had taken an injured one home to care for it.

She said: 'It was really traumatic, on the road there were quite a few dead birds. Blood splattered everywhere. I saw a flash in the sky about an hour previously.

'It was like something out of a horror film. I think the cause of this is man made, and people need to respect our wildlife.' 

Ian Mccaffrey works in Waterston and said some birds fell out of the sky onto his car just after he heard a large 'electrical-type' bang. 

He said: 'When I left work last night I heard a bang and then a load of birds landed on my car.' 

'Every now and again you will hear a bang that is coming from what I think is a crow-scarer that farmers use. 

'However this bang was more like an electrical bang - not quite as loud as lightning but similar.'  

Local newspaper editor Tom Sinclair said: 'There were 50 plus birds on the road and you could hear them all in the hedges, squawking and making noises.

'In the first wave people told me the council collected 10 bin bags, and I was there later on so I think quite a few hundred, if not a 1,000 have died.

'I was there at around 11.30pm, they were still falling from the sky. It was as if they were dead before they hit the ground.

'I got the impression they were falling from a height, I was worried about my car but I had parked a bit further away.

'It was on single track towards Hazelbeach and there were people in two or three cars when I was there, watching it.

'I don't know what happened, really no idea, I can't think it was a bird of prey, they weren't flying and hitting the road, they were falling dead.

Starlings are among some of the most common garden birds in the whole of the UK

Pictured: Starlings during murmuration in Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, on Thursday

'I wondered if they were poisoned, or maybe it was birds who migrate and it was really cold, maybe they froze and died.'

A Pembrokeshire Council spokesperson said: 'Officers attended the site and there were around 200 starlings found dead on the road.

'The authority undertook a clean-up and removed the dead birds from site. There is no clear indication as to the cause of these deaths. We have reported the incident to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.'

The RSPB said investigations were underway to determine the mystery deaths.

The charity said: 'When this happens during night-time, it can cause them to collide with the ground as they become disorientated.

'However, further examinations will be needed to confirm the cause of this incident.'