After I left your house, Ian, I watched them drop (by degrees) into a row of conifers at the back of the garden of the large detached house on Manchester Rd opposite Marklands Rd. A raptor, probably a Sparrowhawk, nabbed one.

There is currently a pretty impressive Starling roost in Astley which I've been watching from my house, always nice Today there were around 3000 birds swirling around for atleast 40 minutes, forming typically impressive shapes with the flock ranging over Manchester Road in Astley between Marklands Road and Windmill Lane, a teriffic sight. There has also been a decent Collared Dove roost in the area with 160 in the tall trees lining Manchester Road in the same location tonight.