An ex-colleague and friend of mine (we joined the RAF on the same day some thirty one years ago), was co-pilot on an RAF Nimrod that ran into a flock of seagulls on takeoff some years ago, as it took off for an Atlantic patrol. They found the remains of over 70 birds on the runway. This didn't include the ones which went down the engines, destroying three of the four. Unfortunately the two pilots didn't survive because the cockpit was destroyed, due to the aircraft being put down in the trees off the end of the runway; however the rest of the crew did.