Mystery as hundreds of dead birds fall from the sky onto road

A woman was left spooked after she encountered dozens of dead birds lying on a road as she was driving home.

Michaela Pritchard said the scene looked like a 'massacre' as she travelled on the road between Waterston and Hazelbeach in Pembrokeshire on Thursday evening (10 February).

And she wasn't the only person to notice, with one man adding that he heard a loud bang before seven or eight birds rained down on his car in nearby Waterston.

But there was apparently little explanation for what caused around 200 birds to die so suddenly, with some pointing to the nearby Dragon LNG plant as a possible cause.

 

People suggested other theories for why the birds had died, including electrocution or being chased by a bird of prey at dusk before hitting the road surface.

Michaela said she didn't stay around as it was such an 'eerie' sight and instead phoned Pembrokeshire council to report what she'd seen.

She said the birds were already dead when she came across them at around 8pm, reports wales online.

Meanwhile Ian Mccaffrey, who works in Waterston, 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 [Thursday] I heard a bang and then a load of birds landed on my car."

He reckoned at least six landed on the ground and added: "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.

"It’s like there were hundreds of birds in the sky and all of a sudden they just died and fell to the ground. It was quite surreal last night to be honest with you - not something I have ever experienced before."

A spokesperson for Dragon LNG said there had been nothing unusual at the plant on Thursday and it was carrying on work as normal.

She added: "It's in the vicinity but it's normal operations at Dragon LNG. There was nothing different at the plant."

Pembrokeshire Council said it was aware of the incident. A spokesman added: "We received a call at around 9pm on 10 February regarding a number of dead starlings on the Hazelbeach Road, Waterston.

"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."