Whew... I got buzzed by a falcon yesterday.

[geigy]

I'm surprised the birds' talons don't get cut. Have seen trained ones with armor, so it may be an issue. The original story about bats reminds me that the VPS system emits ultrasonic energy, and the bats may respond to it. The same may go for birds of prey.

 

[RayOZ]

When this happens it's worth noting that the fastest escape is straight up. Birds of prey are faster than our drones horizontally and descending, but can't climb nearly as fast.

Never thought of that, I would just want to land and get out. But it kinda makes sense.
If they are coming at your drone, go up quickly, then land quickly. If circling, land quickly. They don't want your drone in their airspace. Hanging around and going higher might be seen as a threat. But if they tend to swoop ABOVE the drone to force it down, wouldn't going up just risk collision?

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Yeah, juking up is a great way to dodge them, left and right will probably work too. Our powers of lateral and vertical movement far surpasses that of birds!

nope, a swallow is much quicker, reaching altitude in mere seconds, so is a falcon, built for diving at pigeons flying at top speed. No escape. Hover for a second and push it max throttle. A falcon could easily ascent as fast but they are smart energy managers. They only do that when they are absolutely sure they have an advantage. Mostly they seem to decide they don't.

 

[Marko9219]

Peregrine Falcon makes a kill

I've watched falcons fly upwards carrying a dead duck! (Peregrine falcon, after a kill) They are incredibly fast, maneuverable, powerful raptors. So, there is NO DOUBT in my mind that any falcon can fly upwards faster than any Mavic if it so chooses.