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by drzoltar 1583 days ago
Maybe a microburst [0] of air from a developing thunderstorm? Basically, an extremely powerful downward burst of cold air. Seems to have killed birds in the past [1]. This is absolutely terrifying during takeoff/landing inside an airplane [2].

[0]: https://www.weather.gov/ama/microbursts

[1]: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/mystery-solved-unusua...

[2]: https://youtu.be/Q3Sr2F_xxLo

1 comments

The article from The Guardian quotes as the most likely cause:

"Dr Richard Broughton, an ecologist [..] said a predator could have made the birds swirl tightly and driven them towards the ground, with higher birds forcing lower ones to crash into the buildings or the ground."