Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 175; Flight Crew Type 11000
Situational Awareness
Inflight Event / Encounter Bird / Animal
Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport
Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
On rotation noticed that the departure end on runway was covered with enough birds to cover 100 feet of the runway all the way across and off the sides.  We were past V1 and before the call for Landing Gear Up; we applied Emergency Trust to try and out climb the flock; but hit at approximately 30 birds. We smelled the birds through the bleed air system and elected to return to ZZZ. There were no abnormal engine or system indications.  We ran the appropriate checklists and safety returned to the gate we departed from.  Upon inspection of the aircraft discovered multiple strikes in the engines and leading edges as well as the landing gear.Tower could have a procedure where they scan the runway with binoculars before clearing an aircraft for takeoff.  If the birds were bigger; we could have lost both engines on takeoff and the result would be much more severe.  As it was there was damage to both engines.  There is no way to see the departure end of the runway from the flight deck on Runway XX at ZZZ from the flight deck.
On rotation on Runway X noticed that the departure end on Runway X was covered with enough birds to cover 100 feet of the runway all the way across and off the sides. We past V1 and before the call for Landing Gear Up; we applied Emergency Thrust to try and out climb the flock; but hit approximately 30 birds.  We smelled the birds through the bleed air system and elected to return to ZZZ on Runway Y Right. There were no abnormal engine or system indications. We ran the appropriate checklists and safely returned to the gate we departed from. Upon inspection of the aircraft discovered multiple strikes in the engines and leading edges as well as the landing gear.Tower could have a procedure were they scan the runway with binoculars before clearing an aircraft for takeoff.  If the birds; which were verified as Starlings by ZZZ Airfield Operations; were bigger we could have lost  both engines on takeoff and the result would be much more severe. As it was there was damage to both engines. There is no way to see the departure end of the runway from the flight deck on Runway X at ZZZ from the flight deck because of the crest in the Runway.
Air carrier Captain reported hitting a flock of birds during takeoff resulting in a return to land.