B737-500 INGESTS LARGE BIRD IN L ENG SHORTLY AFTER TKOF. RETURNS TO DEP ARPT FOR INSPECTION AND REPAIR.

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ON INITIAL CLBOUT FROM RWY 16R SMF; AT 800 FT AFE; WE HIT A BIRD. FO WAS FLYING. RIGHT AS SMF TWR ASKED US TO CHANGE TO DEP CTL; I SAW A LARGE WHITE OBJECT FLY BY THE L SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE. IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS WE HEARD A LARGE POP AND THE L ENG STARTED VIBRATING. I TOLD TWR THAT WE HAD HIT A BIRD AND THEN I SWITCHED TO DEP. ALL OF THE ENG PARAMETERS WERE NORMAL WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE L ENG VIBRATION WHICH WAS INDICATING 3.1. WE LEVELED AT 3000 FT. I TOLD ATC THAT WE NEEDED TO RETURN TO SMF. I DETERMINED THAT WE DID NOT NEED TO SHUT THE ENG DOWN AS IT WAS WORKING NORMALLY. WE DID NOT DECLARE AN EMER. WE RETURNED TO THE ARPT AFTER TALKING TO ALL APPROPRIATE PEOPLE AND PERFORMING ALL NORMAL CHKLISTS TO LAND UNEVENTFULLY ON RWY 16R. THE ACFT WEIGHED 111.7 LBS; SO THE LNDG WAS OVERWT. MAINT WAS NOTIFIED. THE AIR WAS SMOOTH AND THE LNDG WAS VERY SMOOTH. I DEEMED THIS THE BETTER OPTION THAN TO POSSIBLY HAVE THE ENG DEGRADE ANY FURTHER IF WE TOOK THE TIME TO BURN FUEL DOWN TO MAX LNDG WT. AFTER PARKING; UPON INSPECTION; THE L ENG HAD 4 FAN BLADES DAMAGED BY A LARGE BIRD.