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Bird Strike - Almost...

Gkinghrn

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Just randomly flying around today - still doing a lot of tests to get a feel for how the camera works/ND Filters etc and various shots ... this happened so fast I never noticed it at the time .... I suspect the bird coming at me was a Sparrow Hawk (saw one flying about earlier) and it aborted when it realised the drone wasnt edible... Shame I didnt get a clean shot of it ...just too fast for the camera...

 
Did you notice by pausing just before the bird enters the frame and clicking it slowly you can actualy see the downdraft from the birds wind disrupting the air around it. Suprised me the video picked that up.
A few days ago on my first flight I had a bird fly past and then come full circle a buzzed me. I'st neg encounter for me.
 
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My second flight with my mini, two birds circled my drone repeatedly. In fear of losing it, I returned home as fast as I could.
 
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My second flight with my mini, two birds circled my drone repeatedly. In fear of losing it, I returned home as fast as I could.
Just pulled this from some footage from the other evening.
I fly around them all the time and have been lucky I guess.
They just seem curios to me. Well other than the raptors.
 
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Hi all. New member here and learning about this drone as im looking to purchase in the next few weeks.

When flying outdoors is it worthwhile to attach the propeller cage to the drone to protect from potential bird strikes?
 
Hi all. New member here and learning about this drone as im looking to purchase in the next few weeks.

When flying outdoors is it worthwhile to attach the propeller cage to the drone to protect from potential bird strikes?
As far a know it will not work but no exp yet to put cage outdoor. Happy flyin
 
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First off, realize that THEY are the experts.

I've had birds ignore the drone, and some check out to see what it is. Haven't (yet) had any try to attack it.

I've heard people suggest to show off your prowess, like climb straight up, fast. Don't know if that will scare them off, or make them certain the have to take you out.
 
Ok, you’ll get a lot of advice on this and most of it boils down to
1. No to the prop guards, they’re best for indoor flying.
2. Since birds can dive faster than rise, go up fast.
3. If the birds hang around, it’s possible you are near a nest. Land fast and move to a new location.
Best wishes.
 
I've noticed that waterfowl and wading birds are at worst intimidated by my MA1; some get agitated even at 30 yards (meters) distance. But I've never encountered an aggressive bird of those kinds. Some ignore it, whether airborne or waterborne. Pelicans don't seem to much care at all, while ducks and geese will take flight. Herons are oblivious unless you're very (too) close.

Birds can easily avoid a drone that's flying at "cinematic" speeds, but raptors (especially) and some others (notably seagulls) can be very aggressive with a drone, to the point of attack in some cases. That's not good for either party, and the "go up" advice stands as a last-ditch avoidance maneuver.

I applied a "bird-averting" skin, as in the attached thread. (So far, so good, though I'll never know if it works; I'll only know if it doesn't.) Note that after that post, I removed the holographic vinyl from a small area on top, because it interfered with the GPS a bit; I'll post an update on that in that thread, but for now:
 
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