"There was a time a few years ago, when, towards the end of a winter's day, I would make a point of looking out of the window and across the fields. At the appointed hour, a Starling flock would put on its display of synchronised flying before disappearing into its roost just over the horizon. For unknown reasons, that is a thing of the past. I do not know whether the roost has been destroyed of the Starling flock has gone the way of the Lapwings that once roosted in the fields."