why do birds..............................

[nagnag]

At the risk of sounding thick, can anyone tell me why birds are circling around the sky in the centre of my town, in large groups, at the moment.

[scuzzball]

Be afraid, be very afraid.......

[lankeela]

Autitoning for my new movie.

Signed Alfred Hitchcock.

[logman]

Soaring, possibly looking for food scraps ?

Some birds will flock together as dusk approaches to get ready for roosting.

What type of birds are they ?

[WendyS]

Seagulls and Herring Gulls often come inland in bad weather. From high up they have a good vantage point looking for scraps of food which might be thrown out, for fields which are being ploughed further away, which might yield worms and other things to eat or Council Tips which are other favourite foraging grounds. If the birds are smaller and dark coloured they are most likely to be starlings which move around in flocks. They move out of town centres during the day to fields and other feeding grounds and fly back into town centres and other slightly warmer areas at dusk to roost for the night in trees in town centres or rooftops.

[nagnag]

They are small and dark, probably starlings, so thanks for the answers. It looks like Wendy'* *** the nail on the head.
Thanks all!

[logman]

Yes, this sounds typical of starling behavior, they are a very gregarious birds, that flock together often seen to fly off at sharp angles in unison, especially at this time of year. They can seem quite quarrelsome when looking for a cosey roost..