In short, there is safety in numbers. Many of the flocks we see this time of year are gathering to “fatten” up before their journey south for the winter. If one of the group finds food, they all find food. If one of them spots a hawk, the rest of them benefit from the early detection. If a predator tries to catch a member of the flock, the greater the number of individuals in the flock the more options there are for evasion.