A RESIDENT in Weymouth has spoken about the ‘unbelievable’ moment thousands of birds descended upon his street and circled around the area.
Michael Watson captured the moment the house martins dived and swarmed near to his home in Horyford Close, Preston, on Saturday (October 3).
House martins arrive in the UK during spring and are here until the autumn when they fly to Africa.
Mr Watson, aged 69, said: “We were looking out of the window and saw loads of birds diving and flying in the air as well as latch onto the wall and sit along the wire. They were here for 30 to 45 minutes then just disappeared.
“It was quite a sight. It was only around the close that they swarmed around.”
Mr Watson added that the birds arrived in two waves and that he and his neighbours had 'never seen anything like it at all'.
He said: “Our neighbours were all looking out of their windows. One person drove in and got out of his car and started taking pictures and video of them. I assume he had been tracking them.
“It was an unbelievable sight. I have never seen anything like that at all.”
He added: “We have seen starlings but we have not seen birds not diving and swarming around the area like this.
“We just could not believe it.”
A spokeswoman for RSPB confirmed they were house martins and were likely gathering at this time of year in large groups ahead of their migratory journeys back to Africa
She said: “Swallows, house martins and swifts are all migratory birds that spend the winter in Africa.
“Swallows and house martins typically arrive back in the UK in late March to early April and leave again in September to October, and being on the south coast, Weymouth is typically one of the first areas to welcome and the last to see them before they depart each year.”
“After these momentous journeys, we can help migratory birds like swifts have a place to rest and raise young by installing swift boxes on our houses.
“At a time where they are in decline, which we have been researching the reasons behind this with the help of the public submitting their sightings to our swift mapper app, we must do our best to give nature a home and demand more is done to help protect it.
“The public can get involved by joining our revive our world campaign which can guide them to help nature from their homes.”
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