ONE of nature's most breathtaking sights has been given its marching orders, following the Army's decision to install loudspeakers to disperse the thousands of birds which flock to Okehampton Camp. A recent bird survey estimated that one and a half million starlings visit to roost in Dartmoor woodland near the camp. The Army say they have reluctantly had to take the decision because of problems the sheer numbers of birds nesting in the area were creating. For the last two years, the sight of the starling formations have proved popular with bird lovers, and Mayor of West Devon Cllr Ken Williams is among those feeling less than chirpy at the prospect of the birds being driven away. Cllr Williams said: 'It is a tremendous attraction. A lot of people go up there to see them. They are amazing to watch and they come up at different times as the winter progresses.' He added: 'The starlings come from every direction. Even from the south, from the heart of the moor.' Cllr Williams said from about this time of the year through to March, the area was popular with bird lovers keen to see the starlings flying in formation. Cllr Williams said there had also been sightings of the merlin, a rare bird of prey, which had been attracted by a chance to pick off birds from the large roost of starlings. Piers Butt who lives near Okehampton, is another fan of the birds. He said he regularly walks his dogs on the moor near the camp giving him a chance to see the starling formations in all their glory. Mr Butt said the weekend before last, as many as 20 or 30 people had come up to the moor to see the birds. He said the starlings were 'a feature of the town' and Okehampton was 'shooting itself in the foot' by forcing them to find a new home. Commandant of Dartmoor Training Area, Col Tony Clark, said the army had 'a very difficult decision to make' because the starlings had been 'absolutely marvelous' to watch. Col Clark said: 'The birds first started coming here two years ago, but we were advised by experts that if they stayed for another year there was a danger of the trees being killed off because of their droppings.' Col Clark said staff had also complained about the smell and noise coming from birds nesting in the area. 'We have had to put up loudspeakers, which play in the early evening. The speakers relay the sound of a female starling in distress, which will encourage the birds to go somewhere else,' said Col Clark. He said the Army had taken advice that this was the most sympathetic way of addressing the problem. Col Clark said the Army was very much involved in work to make sure its use of the moor for training was sensitive to the environment, and he said the RSPB had recently carried out a survey of all the breeding birdlife on open moorland on Dartmoor, which was to be published soon. Col Clark said in the last two years, he had encouraged people to come up to the camp and watch the birds, but he also had a responsibility to the workforce and people who lived there. Starlings are on the RSPB 'red' list, as their numbers have declined significantly in the last 50 years. A RSPB spokesman said the winter starling population was very much higher than the breeding population because large numbers of the species arrive from other parts of Europe in autumn to spend the winter in the UK. The spokesman said the large winter formations of starlings were always an 'impressive sight' and there were a number of places in the South West where they could be seen.