Those out and about around sundown in the valley south of Distington have been treated to a spectacular starling murmuration.
The empty sky soon fills with what looks like thousands of birds as they swoop and manoeuvre over the valley before diving quickly down to their roosts.
Phil Hutchinson shared his video of the murmuration yesterday, Saturday December 28.
He said the spectacle lasted from around 4pm to 4.10pm.
The RSPB said murmuration displays provide starlings with safety in numbers, warmth and the opportunity to share information about the best feeding grounds.
Since so many birds arrive in the same place at once, they can be vulnerable to predators.
By flying together in the sky, creating a moving mass of birds, the starlings can confuse potential predatory species and make it harder for them to pick off individual birds.
While murmurations are formed by impressive numbers of starlings, this species is Red-listed in the UK as a bird of high conservation concern due to their declining numbers.
Since 1995, starling populations have plummeted by 54% in the UK.
