Birds of prey and drones.

[PTBperegrine]

The birds that harassed me are ground nesters and its breeding time now. Commonly called plovers but they are really masked lapwing or spur winged plover. I had one actually smash into my camera lens last year when I walked near their nest. Dad circled behind me and at the same time mum came head on at me. She actually hit my camera lens and pushed the camera back into my face breaking a tooth and cutting my lip in the process
I've seen footage of a raptor of some kind flying from its tree branch and smashed into the drone.
i couldnt see the birds until i started to fly the drone. After i put my heart back into the right position, i moved about 100m away and no problems.

I had multiple attacks on Thursday by a single crow at the Jimna Fire Tower (Qld, Australia). I tried to photograph the attacker but kept missing my rapidly moving target, so switched to video. When my M2P returned home, it had scratches on the Polar Pro polarising filter. It was obvious that the crow could see and easily avoid the rotor disks. ;p

 

[Kevin Cooke]

Not raptors.
Great white pelicans, and Canadian geese.

 

[Slim.slamma]

Not raptors.
Great white pelicans, and Canadian geese.

I always wanted to just bum rush a flock like that

No real harm I see of and the footage is lit

 

[AMann]

I always wanted to just bum rush a flock like that

No real harm I see of and the footage is lit

Please don’t fly over nesting birds though, disturbing them off eggs or away from chicks leaves them vulnerable to predators and even to other birds of the same species. Also its illegal in many countries as per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

 

[Slim.slamma]

Please don’t fly over nesting birds though, disturbing them off eggs or away from chicks leaves them vulnerable to predators and even to other birds of the same species. Also its illegal in many countries as per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

There goes bum rushing I guess

 

[Slim.slamma]

Please don’t fly over nesting birds though, disturbing them off eggs or away from chicks leaves them vulnerable to predators and even to other birds of the same species. Also its illegal in many countries as per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Keeping you on your toes I see

 

[Drgnfli]

Not raptors.
Great white pelicans, and Canadian geese.

Sure looks like you are disturbing the wildlife...

 

[Kevin Cooke]

Sure looks like you are disturbing the wildlife...

The great white pelicans could not have cared less about the Mavic, they just sat there. The only reason they took flight is because someones dog came running down to the shore.

 

[AMann]

We have snowy plovers that nest in beach dunes and easily flush off their nests even when people fly kites nearby. Its a big issue at some beaches because there are so few nesting areas left. The beach is open to kite flying outside of nesting season. Seasonal timing to fly in certain areas is a good way to lessen impacts on wildlife.

 

[AMann]

The great white pelicans could not have cared less about the Mavic, they just sat there. The only reason they took flight is because someones dog came running down to the shore.

Sorry about that, may want to show the dog if you have it . They do tend to scare off things, I once waited for a few hours for some wild mustangs to crest a ridge for a photo, and a bad dog ran them further off the hill. Some owners...

But if I had a paper bag over my head emojii, I’d insert it here.

 

[Rodkat]

If u ever come this way let us know & we can talk drone flying....

I was flying my MP on the gold coast while on holiday from Canberra and got attacked by a peewee of all things. First I knew was the front obstacle sensor went off and the drone stopped mid air. I was 50m high so knew it was a bird. Got it on video, it attacked from behind then turned around and flew in from the front. I climbed at full speed then switched to sports mode, I had line of sight so watched it keep pace so I kept changing direction at full speed and after a very long 20sec it gave up. I was also over water so heart rate was up, managed to sneak back to take off point fast and low, must be the season as never had this happen before. If you're ever in the capital I can show you some great places to fly.

 

[Drgnfli]

The great white pelicans could not have cared less about the Mavic, they just sat there. The only reason they took flight is because someones dog came running down to the shore.

I wouldn't post this on YouTube - a federal game warden might think differently...

 

[zanderlane]

...an old RC vet once told me an anti-bird strike tip: googly eyes - looks silly, but haven't had an attack in several encounters with hawks and raptors over the last two years...they would investigate but never attacked...I just figure it can't hurt and might actually help!

 

[AMann]

View attachment 52371
...an old RC vet once told me an anti-bird strike tip: googly eyes - looks silly, but haven't had an attack in several encounters with hawks and raptors over the last two years...they would investigate but never attacked...I just figure it can't hurt and might actually help!

Nice! How about tiger teeth like on the old P-40’s?

 

[gjmphoto]

View attachment 52371
...an old RC vet once told me an anti-bird strike tip: googly eyes - looks silly, but haven't had an attack in several encounters with hawks and raptors over the last two years...they would investigate but never attacked...I just figure it can't hurt and might actually help!

and they're cute.

 

[zanderlane]

...ok, so I got curious and did some googling - the concept's called "eyespot mimicry" and is used extensively by prey wildlife to defend from predators - so maybe adding some teeth ain't a bad idea!!!

 

[AMann]

...ok, so I got curious and did some googling - the concept's called "eyespot mimicry" and is used extensively by prey wildlife to defend from predators - so maybe adding some teeth ain't a bad idea!!!

View attachment 52376

Add people to that list; villagers living in India near the Ganges Delta wear face masks on the back of their heads to ward off Bengal tiger attacks.

 

[JDawg]

Add people to that list; villagers living in India near the Ganges Delta wear face masks on the back of their heads to ward off Bengal tiger attacks.

Reason #8 I don't travel in India.

 

[zanderlane]

...whoa! - that just made me flashback to like 10-15 years ago when we had a lion eat a mountain biker and ripped the face off another on a popular local trail here in southern california - I remember my buddies and I put big eye stickers on the back of our helmets as the big cats always seem to ambush from behind!

 

[AMann]

Another reason to not stand there oblivious of your surroundings while looking up at the sky when you are in their territory.