Birds are driving me nuts

[kevinpike25]

I have had my Mavic Pro 2 for two weeks and at least half the time I fly, it is attracting several birds, to the point of one bumping it from behind knocking it around (Scary!) Anybody else having this issue?

 

[msinger]

Here are a few things to try that others have had some success with:

• Install a brightly colored skin on your drone
• Install strobe lights on the front/back arms

 

[AeroJ]

Birds are a something of constant hazard for UAV flyers, especially if you fly in mainly countryside, where trees meet the borders of fields, where nests are common. But the large majority do not generally cause problems unless it's nesting season and we fly in proximity to nests.

In general there are 3 types we need to worry about: swallows, crows (though not all types), and raptors. If you are not proximal to their young, any other type of bird will most likely fly away or be uninterested in your craft. Not so with the 'danger 3'. Of those, hawks are most likely to cause serious problems, and can take your machine down with a single strike, or pursue it and attack multiple times until it is removed from the sky. For that reason, it is sensible to leave the area as soon as you see any of these birds in proximity to your craft, and never fly near nesting sites during the breeding season, when they are even more aggressive and relentless in defending their territory. Best bet when under threat from raptors is to get low fast and bring the craft back to you asap. They won't usually pursue the craft in near vicinity of the pilot.

Sometimes of course, even hawks don't attack, but will almost always come over to have a look if you launch in their territory. The trouble is that it's extremely difficult to know what the intention of a circling bird is, and the transition from one that is 'just looking' to one that is angry and diving your craft can be scarily fast, and by then it's probably too late to do anything about it...

 

[Dan]

As was mentioned, install a bright skin. I have used a reflective silver chrome skin and bird attacks went away

 

[AeroJ]

As was mentioned, install a bright skin. I have used a reflective silver chrome skin and bird attacks went away

That's very interesting - I wonder why that works ?

 

[ac0j]

Because it is not "bird colored" like the color DJI chose to make the Mavics.
Birds dont attack things as much, that do not look like a natural thing.
They must think the mavic is either food or a predator I think.
Make it a color they never see, and chances are good they will leave it alone.

 

[AeroJ]

Because it is not "bird colored" like the color DJI chose to make the Mavics.
Birds dont attack things as much, that do not look like a natural thing.
They must think the mavic is either food or a predator I think.
Make it a color they never see, and chances are good they will leave it alone.

Thanks. Yep, from their behaviour with mine I suspect the small ones are mobbing it because they are worried, and the big ones see it as competition.
There's only about 5 skins available for the TH, but one of them is bright orange, so that should do it in my case.

 

[ac0j]

Thanks. Yep, from their behaviour with mine I suspect the small ones are mobbing it because they are worried, and the big ones see it as competition.
There's only about 5 skins available for the TH, but one of them is bright orange, so that should do it in my case.

I would think so. UNLESS your area is full of bright orange tasty birds!

 

[AeroJ]

New information ! On the Yuneec forum, there are a few people saying that raptors definitely go after their H520s, which are bright orange out of the factory !
Also looked at some 'avian psychology' reports that demonstrated that RED is colour most birds are pre-programmed to fear.

Also found a general consensus among Yuneec pilots that the thing to do when being harassed by circling raptors is not to turn tail, descend and run, but rather to go full throttle up and back in a sort of 'demonstration of power' that apparently will scare them off.