A small village in Scotland has had a series of mysterious power outages at dusk - with engineers at a loss to explain why.

But after regular checks and investigations into the incidents by experts in Airth, where 50 homes were affected with fleeting power outages - lead district engineer Neil McDonald identified the culprits. 

READ MORE: Stunning starling murmuration filmed in Scotland as they swoop to avoid falcon's attack

What he discovered was a swooping mass of thousands of birds dancing around and on the overhead power cables causing them to bounce – and power to trip – in response.

Neil managed to capture the whole spectacle – known as a starling murmuration – on camera and wowed his SP Energy Network colleagues.

Ross Galbraith, District General Manager said: “It’s completely breath-taking to watch, although not something we’ve ever experienced before. There’s been several unexplained outages around dusk in recent weeks but given the work we’ve been doing to make sure our network is resilient ahead of winter, we haven’t been able to get to the bottom of it until now.

“Our teams have been gearing up for the winter weather ahead and we are acutely aware of how much more time people spend at home in the current environment, and how crucial power supplies are to those who rely on still being able to work effectively and carry out other essential daily tasks.

“We’re already ‘storm ready’ for the months ahead and have been working really hard this year to improve the resilience of supplies in this particular area too. This is certainly a new challenge in that regard, but now we’ve discovered what our feathered friends have been up to, we can work with the appropriate experts to keep the lights on and power flowing to those living nearby.”

Neil added: “It was a mass aerial stunt by these amazing birds and in all my 14 years working for SPEN, I have never seen anything like it. For all the birds looked small, the sheer number of them caused the wires to bounce up and down as they danced on and off – there’s actually three wires between those poles and when they clash together, the power will go off for around 10 seconds or so at a time. That’s what’s been happening quite frequently, with some of these clashes causing wider damage and longer outages.

“We’re looking at ways to discourage them from impacting our power lines and will work with the RSPB for the best advice. We’ve successfully managed to move on roosting geese in the past so hopefully our starling community can be encouraged to safely relocate somewhere that doesn’t impact our power supplies, and local communities, quite so much.”

Starlings fly to Britain in winter to escape the relative cold of the European mainland and gather in flocks of up to the hundreds of thousands in the sky.

They are most commonly spotted just before dusk in November.

Scientists believe starlings may form murmurations to protect themselves from predators, with safety in numbers. 

The flocking also allows the birds to exchange information such as good areas to feed and to stay warm in the night air before they settle down in their roosting site below.

Also known as the common starling or European starling, the birds tend to roost in sheltered areas such as woodlands but they are also known to use reedbeds, cliffs and even man-made buildings and industrial structures.

Toby Wilson, RSPB Scotland’s Senior Conservation Officer for Central Scotland commented: “Starling murmurations are one of the great spectacles of the natural world and can be enjoyed across the UK during the autumn and winter months. I have heard of one or two instances of them causing local issues with power lines but this is the first I am aware of in this area.

“Unfortunately, starling murmurations are becoming a rarer sight, as starling numbers have suffered serious declines over the past few decades due to loss of habit and changing farming techniques affecting food supplies. We have a good relationship with SP Energy Networks and have worked together before, although never on a fantastic spectacle such as this. Obviously, we recognise the need to maintain energy networks and hope the birds can be sensitively encouraged to relocate to a suitable, nearby site. We are happy to work with SP Energy Networks to advise on this.”

Methods to move starlings on normally involve playing loud artificial noise to put them off roosting in a specific location, including sounds of predators like sparrowhawks.