Coming in to land at Leeds Bradford several years ago in a C182 I was " cleared to land" on runway 27 ( now closed) At the commencement of the round out I saw a
very large flock of lapwings perched contentedly fair and square on the threshold. These birds are a perennial problem at Leeds and fly in from the adjacent Tarn at yeadon. I briefly contemplated going around but instantly concluded that the increased noise and disturbance of overflying them at full power and low level would have resulted in them taking off directly in to the front of the aircraft, and that in the event of a subsequent forced landing I would not have had a clear cut landing area to aim for. I decided in a split second to proceed with the landing as the lesser of the two evils, knowing full well that they would be bound to leave the runway when I got closer to them. They all took off bang on cue right in front of me exactly as expected, and six of them hit the aircraft at various different points with no subsequent serious damage apart from one dent in a wing leading edge and a fair bit of blood and feathers here and there, at least one having gone throught the prop and another literally bouncing off the windscreen. Another hit the tailplane and I felt the impact through the stick. As has been mentioned there is some form filling to do for CAA analysis which comprised a report of aircraft damage, engine type, speed at time of impact( low in my case). The only inconvenience for the airport was the temporary closure of the runway while the bird debris was removed.
