Bird / Pidgeon Deterrent

[mattgod69]

Does anyone know of any gadgets that can deter birds from trying to dive bomb my drone when i am looking at roofs?! I have had a couple of near misses, but if something could just scare them away for a few minutes this would be handy. I live by the seaside and it seems as soon as the drone goes up it seems they are literally going for it! Many thanks in advance.

 

[Crow Horse]

Generally speaking, this time of year, depending on location, is the breeding season for many species. I don't believe there are any gadgets that will repel a bird that is defending it's territory or nest. If there is such a device, it most probably is designed to lighten your wallet........

 

[66427cobra]

Does anyone know of any gadgets that can deter birds from trying to dive bomb my drone when i am looking at roofs?! I have had a couple of near misses, but if something could just scare them away for a few minutes this would be handy. I live by the seaside and it seems as soon as the drone goes up it seems they are literally going for it! Many thanks in advance.

Browning 12 gauge with #8 shot.

 

[chiangmaicharlies]

Let the birds have their fun - they were there first - and it makes the drone flying more interesting.

 

[Ralph thompson]

Suggest one of the toy water jets, just walk round the property & give the pigeons a couple of squirts. They’re smart birds, they’ll take the hint and fly away.

 

[itallica]

They've been firing devices like this to get the geese off the local golf course this spring.

Sounds like a blast!

 

[Dbez1]

They've been firing devices like this to get the geese off the local golf course this spring.

Sounds like a blast!

Your suburban customers are going to love that! Combine that with a couple drone haters and you have the perfect storm. Lol. Please be sure to let us know how it goes.

 

[SladeSteele07]

There is a blueberry farm near me that has a problem with birds. They use those little bottle rockets and just shoot them off once in awhile and that keeps the birds away. You just have to check local regs I guess to make sure that that's okay

 

[DSRT_VLTR]

I drone in the desert where there are very aggressive red tail & Harris hawks. I fly my Mini 2 with a strobe on top always switched-on. It's worked so far!

 

[EC3D19934]

As DSRT_VLTR noted, flying with a strobe on has kept the hawks and eagles at bay when I fly near their territories...

 

[Torque]

I put quarter sized googly eyes on my DJI FPV drone to keep the crows away. A strobe works as well.

 

[EsaT]

Strobe light or something looking like eyes are propably the best shots.
Though Ural owl might actually target those eyes if it has nest nearby...

They've been firing devices like this to get the geese off the local golf course this spring.

Sounds like a blast!

Guess your local geese are wussies.
Here in Finland geese stop caring about those in hours.
(at least without complementary dosages of lead)

 

[Ned Bogan]

Would putting a removable hi-viz green or orange vinyl skin on your drone keep birds from attacking the drone?

 

[Crow Horse]

Would putting a removable hi-viz green or orange vinyl skin on your drone keep birds from attacking the drone?

Unlikely. If they perceive a potential threat to their nest or territory, it won't matter how that threat is dressed. I believe it's best to be mindful of these potential encounters during certain times of the year and adjust your flights accordingly.

 

[Ned Bogan]

Unlikely. If they perceive a potential threat to their nest or territory, it won't matter how that threat is dressed. I believe it's best to be mindful of these potential encounters during certain times of the year and adjust your flights accordingly.

I don't know how much of a potential threat they are, but my only possible bird problem will be urban pigeons.
I don't think they get territorial or defensive the way hawks/falcons/eagles do.

 

[Crow Horse]

I don't know how much of a potential threat they are, but my only possible bird problem will be urban pigeons.
I don't think they get territorial or defensive the way hawks/falcons/eagles do.

City pigeons might not be as aggressive as their rural brethren. Although not extremely common in every city, but some cities do have peregrine falcons. If anything, a strobe might help deter or disorient a potential attack.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I've read numerous posts in the past where people put the holographic silver wraps on their drones, that same sort of stuff orchards hang around their trees (strips in string) to flap around and deter birds.

I'll try a couple of drone wrap sites to see if I can find an example . . .

No nothing easily found, maybe you can cut a shape to fit on top of your drone / battery from contact material like this . . .

Styletech Holographic – Confetti Silver | Skat Katz - Heat Transfer Vinyl & Self Adhesive Vinyl Experts

or this . . .

9ft x 18" Holographic foil decorative contact paper wallpaper self adhesive | eBay

And some strips for around the arms.

There used to be drone wrap sites that used this, now hard to find.
One thought, some of this paper might have metallic properties that could affect a compass ?

What Is Holographic Paper?

"Holographic paper is a sheet of paper that has been embossed with a pattern or image and then coated in a very thin layer of metal. "

 

[Ned Bogan]

".....There used to be drone wrap sites that used this, now hard to find..."

Decalgirl.com has a nice collection of vinyl skins for some models. Not cheap, but they look good.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

Sounds like a good use case for a countermeasures system. In the city, you could have a chaff launcher that fires birdseed. In the desert, it could be reconfigured to launch a mouse to redirect the hawks.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Decalgirl.com has a nice collection of vinyl skins for some models. Not cheap, but they look good.

I had a scan of her site, and search for holographic, silver, etc.
Nothing came up for that.

Mind you, a nice bright skin might achieve the same result, especially if it has eyes on it.

Most DJI drones in grey look kind of like a regular bird colour, and can easily be seen as a predator to most birds, or intruders to raptors in their territory.

Most drone wrap sites have the well recognisable Kittyhawk type 'eyes' version somewhere.
Not sure that would be all that visible or reconisable easily to a bird as a 'someone watching them' type of deterrent.