NikV wrote:
The starlings are doing you a favour and ridding you of
leatherjackets and their pupae. They munch on grass roots.

They're daddy-long-legs / crane flies. Mayflies hatch from water:
aka
caddis fly, the grubs make a protective jacket of débris and carry
it
about. May be of grass, reed, and twig detritus, or small pebbles
and
bits of shell.

Cheers thanx for the replies.

Got my three year old putting a pinch of grass seed and filling
with
sand from sand pit - there are hundreds/thousands of holes -
trouble
is hes a bit heavy handed and I came home to find a lawn dotted
with
piles of sand (and some seed) LOL

Glad you can hang on to your sense of humour: after all, your lawn
will still be there long after the youngster's stopped being an
entertaining three-year-old!

Why the synchronised emergence??? Did not see any this morning at
all

They lay their eggs, and the kids hatch out, when conditions are
right. I don't know if this is the last you'll see of them this year,
or if there'll be another wave later on. (My favourites are those
American things which only hatch out every (?) thirteen and seventeen
years, but when they do, they really go for it: US Internet
acquaintances had some lovely pictures earlier on. Sometimes I think
the UK gardener's life is almost boringly easy.)

--
Mike.