VIDEO: Watch incredible cloud of thousands of starlings over Doncaster

This is the mesmerising moment a huge cloud of thousands of starlings gathered in the skies above Doncaster.

The birds made for a startling spectacle as they gathered in their thousands over Potteric Carr nature reserve on Monday night.

Despite being among the most common garden birds the phenomenon of a murmuration of starlings still manages to captivate imaginations.

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Swooping and soaring the breathtaking sight is believed to be a form of protection from predators and murmurations tend to take place shortly before sunset.

Murmurations make it incredibly difficult for even the most sharp-eyed of predators to focus on a single bird.

They also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas.

They gather over their roosting site, and perform their wheeling stunts before they roost for the night.

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Early evening, just before dusk, is the best time to see them across the UK.

The displays are some of the most elaborate in British wildlife and, with the sun glistening from their feathers, can make for a strangely hypnotic show.

This footage was captured from the Asda car park at around 5.30pm - with more shows expected over the coming days.

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