Bird of Prey - Close Call!

[Slantnose79]

So, I'm flying this morning and see a couple big birds stalking the MP. Luckily, I was recording. This is a screen shot.

So, any bird experts - - what is this? Eagle? Hawk? Vulture?

 

[landcruzr]

looks like a turkey vulture to me

 

[F6Rider]

looks like a turkey vulture to me

We have a winner, yep, Turkey Vulture, we have plenty of them around where I fly. I always watch out for them, haven't had one make a run on the Mav, but they come close to check it out.

 

[Carlos de Castro]

I had the same thing happen today, but it was two of them. All of sudden obstacle avoidance turned on, when I watched the video it was 2 large birds.


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

 

[Boscobrown]

I might be wrong but turkey vultures are not hunters but scavengers. I would assume that you are sage around them, might be a curiosity thing. I would definitely worry about Eagles and Hawks though.

Sent from my SM-G900I using MavicPilots mobile app

 

[Egon Brainparts]

That does look pretty close! I think you were all good with the turkey vulture though. Most birds raptors included show some curiosity, but overall avoid the Mavic. Here's an entire video of flocking bird and Bald eagle shots I put together with the Mavic.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Sent from my SM-G930V using MavicPilots mobile app

 

[EasyV]

Maybe we need someone to come up with a chaff dispenser for the Mavic to scare em off?

 

[XnavyDude]

That does look pretty close! I think you were all good with the turkey vulture though. Most birds raptors included show some curiosity, but overall avoid the Mavic. Here's an entire video of flocking bird and Bald eagle shots I put together with the Mavic.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Sent from my SM-G930V using MavicPilots mobile app

Holy birds batman! [emoji16] We're u worried about your mp getting ran into and crashing in the water?

Sent from my SM-G900V using MavicPilots mobile app

 

[halley]

One, avoid disturbing wildlife.

Two, if birds approach you, best exit strategy is a quick climb.

 

[ghedgepath]

That does look pretty close! I think you were all good with the turkey vulture though. Most birds raptors included show some curiosity, but overall avoid the Mavic. Here's an entire video of flocking bird and Bald eagle shots I put together with the Mavic.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Sent from my SM-G930V using MavicPilots mobile app

One of the best videos I've seen. Well edited. Perfect music. It tells a story without getting in its own way!


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

 

[Egon Brainparts]

Holy birds batman! [emoji16] We're u worried about your mp getting ran into and crashing in the water?

Sent from my SM-G900V using MavicPilots mobile app

I was a little worried, but I've watched a lot of flocking birds and they don't bump into each other much. They also move in pretty predictable directions. Worse comes to worse I end up going for a little winter swim and then dry her out.

Sent from my SM-G930V using MavicPilots mobile app

 

[erkme73]

Turkey vultures have red heads. Black (aka American) Vultures have black heads. It's a bit hard to tell from the screenshot whether it's black or red, but it's definitely one of the two.

Both feed almost exclusively on dead animals. The pose he's giving shows an unusually steep angle. They normally don't roll that far unless they're making an abrupt change in direction. Did it seem like he was startled?

 

[HelloNasty1]

Edit

 

[Slantnose79]

Turkey vultures have red heads. Black (aka American) Vultures have black heads. It's a bit hard to tell from the screenshot whether it's black or red, but it's definitely one of the two.

Both feed almost exclusively on dead animals. The pose he's giving shows an unusually steep angle. They normally don't roll that far unless they're making an abrupt change in direction. Did it seem like he was startled?

Curious. There were 2 of them checking it out.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[CC Rider]

Yeah, that's a common vulture, or a "Texas Turkey" as we used to call them in Albuquerque years ago. It's not really a bird of prey since it survives completely on pre-killed animals (carrion), usually already rotted meat (road kill, etc.).

Their nostrils are way oversized for their heads, allowing them to catch the scent of a kill better than any other creature that I know of, and they have an incredibly intense and sensitive olfactory system that allows them to smell dead things from even thousands of feet in the air. It's all phermones. They smell their meal before they see it as they float far above everything.

Those big birds prefer to ride on thermals and rely on heat updrafts coming off of the land to really catch some air. That's why they're not as active in the colder months, although they will still do the whole vulture thing even then, just not nearly as efficiently. They have to air out their wings in the mornings after heavy dew or dampness to dry them out due to the the density and surface area of all of their heavy-duty flight feathers. They look plump and full, but are actually rather scrawny creatures close up, just covered in dense plumage.

To touch one is not pleasant. They just put off a bad vibe - to me at least - and are rather nasty as they live on, eat, and crawl through all kinds of dead animals to survive. I've seen them crawling out of an old dead mule a farmer drug off in his field to get rid of when I was a boy growing up in the country. The vultures had entered the bloated, dead mule from its split-open stomach, and I watched them eat itheir way out of the mule exiting through its outstretched ****, feathers just covered in gunk. They're just filthy, eye-catching big birds in the sky that can be chased away by a blackbird, crow, or any bird 1/5th its size. They have no fight in them really.