Birds...how scared should I be?

jsquyre · Nov 12, 2017

Falcons can be a real issue especially during spring and early summer when they are nesting. I'm speaking about here in the US and primarily Peregrine Falcons and Prairie Falcons. They generally nest on the side of cliffs (Peregrines also on high rises in the bigger cities). They will aggressively dive bomb other larger birds that come anywhere near their nests, so you may want to be cautious when flying in those areas. They are about the size of a crow or a little larger and are very capable of taking ducks on the wing so a MP should be no issue for them if they feel threatened. Merlins are a smaller falcon but I have observed them on several occasions dive bombing crows just for the sake of harassment so they could present a minor problem, but again they are much smaller and I don't think they could do much damage to a MP since they don't go into the high speed stoops as the Prairies and Peregrines do. Golden Eagles could pose a real threat also. My experience with raptors stems from being a Master Falconer for 28 years.

Dabrain · Nov 12, 2017

charliesRig said:
I'm just going to leave this Here.......
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Someone's training their raptor to strike drones. Wow.

lisadoc · Nov 12, 2017

Dabrain said:
Someone's training their raptor to strike drones. Wow.

It's the Dutch police:
Dutch police use eagles to hunt illegal drones

kaankorkmaz · Nov 12, 2017

I usually start climbing up when birds start circling around the MP. It has worked so far and I feel like it's better to ascend than descend because birds can't ascend as quickly as the MP. If you descend there's a better chance the bird will attack the drone. That being said, I don't think small birds would attack the drone. They're just interested and want to take a closer look.

Dabrain · Nov 12, 2017

lisadoc said:
It's the Dutch police:
Dutch police use eagles to hunt illegal drones

Thanks, kind or remember seeing this video awhile back. So, fly illegally in the Netherlands or Belgium an egale may eat your drone.

jkirk · Nov 12, 2017

Iam with JMF on this......very cautious with birds. I have quite a large group of swifts that love to come up and buzz and even follow mine evenings as I fly up to catch sunsets. But I had one of two hawks that were cruising together turn and make a kind of offensive move at Mavic a month ago. I was at 150' and went straight up as Id read on one of this sites threads......Was glad I read the advice otherwise my MP may have become a yard dart. Thanks to all for sharing experiences here.

charliesRig · Nov 12, 2017

and another......
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Hal · Nov 12, 2017

I was flying today when two Red Tail Hawks began circling the Mav. I did not do any aggressive or threatening movements toward them. Rather just brought Mav down and let them move on. They definitely where interested in what it was. If I sensed that they may go after it I think I would have climbed rapidly

oldschool · Nov 13, 2017

liamus27 said:
This mean looking fella swooped for my Mavic this weekend whilst flying in Buckinghamshire (they are common there)

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/resources/images/5134432.jpg?type=article-full

I panicked and was close to home so just landed...I've seen similar bird attack threads but was intrigued by people's general fear level here?[/QUOT

oldschool · Nov 13, 2017

charliesRig said:
and another......
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Curious Hawk. | SkyPixel.com

GeorgeLL · Nov 13, 2017

There are a lot of hummingbirds around where I fly. They always check out my Mavic. I don't know if they can hear it or maybe because it hovers?
I'm afraid of hitting one that I can't see. If I see one I either stop and hover or fly in a direction away from where I think the nest is. I've had crows circle a couple of times. They are curious I suppose. I don't worry about birds attacking the Mavic as much as me accidentally hitting a bird that is just curious.

drickbrinkman · Nov 14, 2017

liamus27 said:
This mean looking fella swooped for my Mavic this weekend whilst flying in Buckinghamshire (they are common there)

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/resources/images/5134432.jpg?type=article-full

I panicked and was close to home so just landed...I've seen similar bird attack threads but was intrigued by people's general fear level here?

Great photo!!! Was that taken by your Mavic?

On my first flight in an open field I had a hummingbird keep diving at my Mavic. I also immediately landed with visions of hummingbird splattered which would have ruined the fun of it, especially for the bird.

drickbrinkman · Nov 14, 2017

oldschool said:
Curious Hawk. | SkyPixel.com

Did you take that picture with a telephoto on a camera?
Did your drone live to tell the tale?
;-)

sommavic · Nov 19, 2017

Seagulls seem to be the most aggressive I’ve com across. I flew at Riomaggiore in Italy for a sunset shot and one flew out immediately. I just sped away. Figured I was safe. I was up for just a few minutes and he came back with his friends, a whole flock dive bombing it. Took evasive maneuvers and flew back. Even flying straight up didn't work as they were still with me at 400’. Trying to land I was only like 10 ft away and one took a last swoop!

bassinbutch · Nov 20, 2017

Here in the States, pigeons are a big roosting/nesting problem around public buildings. Our County Commissioners asked me to fly my Mavic around our courthouse to see how they would react. Predictably, when I got it up to roof level, 20-25 flew off to another distant building. An interesting thing happened afterwards. While flying over the downtown area for a few minutes, they flew in a swarm toward the Mavic and began circling it aggressively in a group formation. When I made a sudden movement, it would temporarily disturb them, but they would soon regain their composure and again begin their high-speed circling. I know now, after reading this thread, that the best elusive maneuver is straight up. Instead, I made a bee line to land. I never imagined that a flock of pigeons would act so aggressively.

Greg Smithski · Nov 20, 2017

I think I found a solution. A cat skin, I mean a skinned cat.

On my first flight with my mavic I had a humming bird harass me. I stood still hoping it wouldn't go through the props there was no way I could out fly it.

Freebird32 · Nov 20, 2017

I definitely wouldn't fly in Bodega Bay, especially anywhere near the schoolhouse. All the birds were bad news there.

(hint for the millennials - good Hitchcock movie, The Birds....)

Pondboy · Dec 7, 2017

I had pigeons flying close enough to trigger my collision avoidance yesterday. One of them did a very natty wing-over to avoid the Mavic when it was at full pelt and going to hit it.

The Mavic just stopped and they all flew round a couple more times before losing interest. Made me wonder about flying up to the hill behind where the vultures are, but I did anyway.

MQuinn · Dec 7, 2017

Canadian Geese, flying carp as they are called around here are my biggest fear

NestleQuik · Dec 7, 2017

lisadoc said:
I apologize. It's just that this forum and other message boards are replete with such knee-jerk reactions and warnings about birds that it gets a little frustrating when everyone assumes that birds are attacking their drones. Same thing when the rest of the world has similar reactions to drones flying near them and assumes that the drone is intent on spying on them. Both are uninformed opinions based on a lack of information or experience with the subject matter.

And you're right... the correct response from me should have been a straightforward note about the facts and an attempt to educate folks, without the "snarky"/sarcastic comments aired in frustration. For that I do fully apologize.

I would still recommend that you read my detailed response on the other post in order to learn more on this subject.

Where is your other post?