Birds and drones

[seilerbird]

Hi - I am new here with my first question. I have a Tactic Air Drone on order and it should arrive sometime next month. I am a retired bird photographer and I am wondering if there are any rules about photographing birds with a drone. I did not buy it to photograph birds, I have other uses, such as inspecting the roof on my RV since I am too decrepit to get up on my roof now. I am guessing that most birds will flee at the site of a drone.

My Portfolio · Jun 11, 2003 – Oct 9, 2015 📸

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goo.gl

 

[old man mavic]

there are rules governing low flying over birds during their breeding season,and also posting pictures or birds of prey ,thus resulting in people being able to identify their nest locations during the breading season ,also you need to be aware that birds are very territorial and will often attack other flying objects if they feel their young are in danger ,this includes drones they have no real fear of them obviously i am speaking about the UK rules ,and other countries ,may have different rules ,

 

[Andrex]

Any meeting between a bird and drone is going to be bad news for both. Stay away from areas with large numbers of nesting birds, for example colonies near coastal cliffs.

 

[Andrex]

Also a Tactic Air Drone is not going to give you good results. No GPS - it will drift in the wind. No image stablisation - it will be jerky. Poor camera. Poor controller. Few settings to control. Poor battery life and flight time. Poor camera control. Low range. Bear all of this in mind...

 

[KB9Radio]

Hi - I am new here with my first question. I have a Tactic Air Drone on order and it should arrive sometime next month. I am a retired bird photographer and I am wondering if there are any rules about photographing birds with a drone. I did not buy it to photograph birds, I have other uses, such as inspecting the roof on my RV since I am too decrepit to get up on my roof now. I am guessing that most birds will flee at the site of a drone.

My Portfolio · Jun 11, 2003 – Oct 9, 2015 📸

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goo.gl

Some very nice photos for sure!

 

[DoomMeister]

In Florida there are a lot of wildlife refuges that prohibit launching and landing of drones. As others have stated most birds both large and small will defend their territory.

 

[seilerbird]

... I did not buy it to photograph birds, I have other uses...

 

[seilerbird]

Also a Tactic Air Drone is not going to give you good results. No GPS - it will drift in the wind. No image stablisation - it will be jerky. Poor camera. Poor controller. Few settings to control. Poor battery life and flight time. Poor camera control. Low range. Bear all of this in mind...

Yes I took all that into account and I only bought a $99 drone just to get my feet wet.

 

[eEridani]

... I did not buy it to photograph birds, I have other uses...

One of your uses - inspecting your RV roof - requires you fly under 14 CFR 107 rules, and you need a license.

Yeah- drone rules are that silly. Best to cancel your order and do some research before spending money.

Also - GPS is really not an option. If you want the drone to be useful for even recreational reasons, you should have GPS. A drone without GPS when flying out doors is like - well - you'll learn. lol.

 

[Meta4]

I am guessing that most birds will flee at the site of a drone.

That's correct, and together with a wideangle lens, that makes a drone about the worst possible way to photograph most birds.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

One of your uses - inspecting your RV roof - requires you fly under 14 CFR 107 rules, and you need a license.

Not for personal property inspection, surely ??

From what I've read about all country drone regs / rules, the requirement to license for commercial use is where you can obtain payment / reward (even for personal experience), or, the recipient gets some value from the flight, that type of outcome.

If you want to check your RV roof, or your gutters at home etc, that isn't under the commercial banner as such.

Doing the neighbours roof inspection ex gratia might be borderline, but I don't think authorities would place much worth on even that as an illegal activity.

 

[Meta4]

Not for personal property inspection, surely ??

The checking roof gutters is a specific case that is referred to nearly every time this topic comes up.
It's the most pointlessly pedantic, fundamentalist interpretation of the rules.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The checking roof gutters is a specific case that is referred to nearly every time this topic comes up.
It's the most extreme and pointless, fundamentalist interpretation of the rules.

I suppose the drone owner is a recipient of the flight, ie getting a service, but it would fall outside a commercial activity as such for another party obviously.

I just can't ever see any airspace authority is going to go that far with rule interpretation.
(Never say never though.)

 

[eEridani]

You can't make this stuff up. I am quoting the FAA website: There is another FAA site document that states emphatically that inspecting your own roof gutters is a Part 107 commercial act.

Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations

www.faa.gov

Note: Non-recreational purposes include things like taking photos to help sell a property or service, roof inspections, or taking pictures of a high school football game for the school's website.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

You can't make this stuff up. I am quoting the FAA website: There is another FAA site document that states emphatically that inspecting your own roof gutters is a Part 107 commercial act.

Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations

www.faa.gov

That's interestingly termed, but feel when roof inspections are lumped in with "taking photos to help sell a property or service, taking pictures of a high school football game for the school's website, other situations of goodwill or other non-monetary value can also be considered indirect compensation, and include things like volunteering to use your drone to survey coastlines on behalf of a non-profit organization" . . . then that sort of lends itself to other parties, not your own direct circumstances.

It MIGHT be that you are correct, as in if you took the photos of you home to sell it, and posted them in your own advert on Facebook or where ever, or most certainly gave them to a RE agent for them to use in ads.

I have emailed FAA ands asked them to clarify if I can inspect my own property from above using my own drone for my own personal use.
Will post up the reply when it comes through.

 

[Meta4]

I have emailed FAA ands asked them to clarify if I can inspect my own property from above using my own drone for my own personal use.

The reply you get will depend on who answers it.
There have been many cases of individual FAA personnel giving opinions and incorrect information in response to questions like that.

While you are at it, tell the FAA where you live.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The reply you get will depend on who answers it.
There have been many cases of individual FAA personnel giving opinions and incorrect information in response to questions like that.

While you are at it, tell the FAA where you live.

True, but at least it's in writing.

I used a generic US based email, and location not relevant to a general inquiry.
I know CASA wouldn't be worried about such a thing here, would be really overreaching the spirit of such a rule / law.

 

[4006448]

Also a Tactic Air Drone is not going to give you good results. No GPS - it will drift in the wind. No image stablisation - it will be jerky. Poor camera. Poor controller. Few settings to control. Poor battery life and flight time. Poor camera control. Low range. Bear all of this in mind...

But other than that, it’s ok. ??

 

[eEridani]

My thoughts are if I am flying around my property because my CBO encourages more flight time - I already have to have LAANC clearance - so I'm going to take time practicing maneuvers, after all, I enjoy practicing flying my drone. So trying to carefully guide it in a straight line, I use my gutters as reference, and for flying in circles I use my chimney or those round thingies sticking through the roof as reference. And, I record everything just in case I want to go back and compare what happened to my logs. Also - staying over my roof I am least likely to annoy neighbors as much as I would by flying around a tree or fence that borders the property. And of course I have to get to my practice sites, so I fly back and forth over the roof to do so.

Some rules are just silly.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I use my gutters as reference, and for flying in circles I use my chimney or those round thingies sticking through the roof as reference.

Was going to suggest it would be an easy one to get around, but that would be cheating

Yeah, if the spirit of the rule is for such personal use, it would be fairly ridiculous, and not at all policeable.
Laws that aren't policeable are silly laws.