Drone Monitoring?

[Deleted member 92101]

Hi everyone

Are there any apps available that could monitor if a drone is in the area? There's a wildlife group in Bath, UK, that suspects that a drone has been disturbing a pair of Peregrine Falcons that are due to nest.

You can see footage of how stressed they were.

Many thanks for any advice!

 

[White Tiger Aerial Photos]

Hi everyone

Are there any apps available that could monitor if a drone is in the area? There's a wildlife group in Bath, UK, that suspects that a drone has been disturbing a pair of Peregrine Falcons that are due to nest.

You can see footage of how stressed they were.

Many thanks for any advice!

Not sure exactly what to make of the footage. Without any video pointing outwards, there's no way to know if it was a drone. The FAA released some type of rule that I think should allow you to see if there is a drone in the area, but I'm not well versed on the details. I'm sure someone else here will know better than me though.

 

[Deleted member 92101]

Thx, the video shows that something unusual has disturbed these birds. The group suspects a drone since these birds are pretty much high up on the food chain.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

DJI Aeroscope perhaps?

Aeroscope - DJI

DJI AeroScope is able to identify the vast majority of popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their electronic signals to gain critical information, allowing users to protect the integrity of their flight-sensitive environment.

www.dji.com

 

[White Tiger Aerial Photos]

DJI Aeroscope perhaps?

Aeroscope - DJI

DJI AeroScope is able to identify the vast majority of popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their electronic signals to gain critical information, allowing users to protect the integrity of their flight-sensitive environment.

www.dji.com

It might not be a DJI drone though.

 

[Thomas B]

DJI Aeroscope perhaps?

Aeroscope - DJI

DJI AeroScope is able to identify the vast majority of popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their electronic signals to gain critical information, allowing users to protect the integrity of their flight-sensitive environment.

www.dji.com

I think it is only available to LE agencies.

 

[White Tiger Aerial Photos]

I think it is only available to LE agencies.

What are LE agencies?

 

[anotherlab]

LE is the abbreviation for Law Enforcement.

Aeroscope can detect other brands of drones, it's not limited to DJI products. The wildlife group would need to contact the local police or CAA to get someone with the Aeroscope equipment. How close do they think the drones are coming?

They could install another camera and aim it at the airspace above the nest. It still may not see the drone, but if one is nea by, it would pick up the audio.

 

[Aerial Edge]

While it is possible that it is a drone, I can tell you from flying many drones in remote parts of the country that smaller raptors are not spooked from most drones. And in fact the Falcons and Hawks try to chase them and in fact attack them. We have to watch for them and have had to land at times and let the hawks fly off so we could continue. Most raptors are territorial and the smaller ones are not afraid of larger birds and will attack.

Now of course this is here in the states, and different species can act differently. Seen flacons run a bald eagle off here in my back yard. Those small birds were hitting that eagle fast and hard.

Just something to keep in mind. As the other suggestion it may be best to get another camera. Do you all have Wildlife Officers that are in charge of Conservation there?
May be time to give them a heads up, they usually have a lot of resources. I know here using a drone and Harassing or Disturbing wildlife is Illegal and amounts to some jail time.

Dave

ETA: Beautiful Falcons by the way

 

[NLOL]

Hard for me to be sure from those images but I think those two birds were of the same sex - upset with each other - not some intruder.

 

[Meta4]

There's a wildlife group in Bath, UK, that suspects that a drone has been disturbing a pair of Peregrine Falcons that are due to nest.

It's a big jump to guess that a drone is involved without any real reason to suspect it.

You can see footage of how stressed they were.

Stressed??
I've had a Peregrine check my drone out before I backed off (because I know how they hunt by diving on prey at very high speed).
It appeared curious and not stressed by the drone.

I had a monitoring site I had to visit each month near a Peregrine's nest.
In breeding season, they would really let me know how unimpressed they were, repeatedly diving on me with lots of noise.
The two in the video seem very sedate.

 

[DoomMeister]

I am all for wildlife conservation and urban projects that try to keep birds of prey in the city. They help keep down rodent populations.

But automatically assuming a drone is the cause for supposedly agitated falcons is a stretch at best. Seems that drones are the popular evil these days. If it isn’t the press it’s the Eco groups blaming them for something. If they really want to know what is going on, they might try putting human eyes on the area.

 

[tlswift58]

I think it is only available to LE agencies.

If any LE Agency in Europe has this - you can bet the Brits have it and use it extensively.

 

[Aerial Edge]

I am all for wildlife conservation and urban projects that try to keep birds of prey in the city. They help keep down rodent populations.

But automatically assuming a drone is the cause for supposedly agitated falcons is a stretch at best. Seems that drones are the popular evil these days. If it isn’t the press it’s the Eco groups blaming them for something. If they really want to know what is going on, they might try putting human eyes on the area.

Oh I agree, Drones are the current boogie man. I do not think that was a drone. That had the looks of this is my nest not yours argument. Raptors are not spooked by drones like pigeons are. If it is an old church I have no doubt people have been flying drones around it. It makes for some wonderful pictures I am sure. I am a Conservationist and we have to use drones to Inspect Large raptor nests for Power companies and communication companies, They do not get very upset about them.

I have had to deal with "Bird Watchers" many times during infrastructure inspection. They can be very difficult and have a lot of false ideals about the sensitivity of birds and their interactions with the world around them. Had one that would whisper if they were around 1/4 mile of a nest. Yell at people driving down the road to slow down as to not disturb the nesting bird 1000 feet off the road.

I am no expert but spend 50 plus hours a week in the woods working full time and many a weekends in spring and fall, so a lot of observations made over the years.

 

[tlswift58]

While it is possible that it is a drone, I can tell you from flying many drones in remote parts of the country that smaller raptors are not spooked from most drones. And in fact the Falcons and Hawks try to chase them and in fact attack them. We have to watch for them and have had to land at times and let the hawks fly off so we could continue. Most raptors are territorial and the smaller ones are not afraid of larger birds and will attack.

Now of course this is here in the states, and different species can act differently. Seen flacons run a bald eagle off here in my back yard. Those small birds were hitting that eagle fast and hard.

Just something to keep in mind. As the other suggestion it may be best to get another camera. Do you all have Wildlife Officers that are in charge of Conservation there?
May be time to give them a heads up, they usually have a lot of resources. I know here using a drone and Harassing or Disturbing wildlife is Illegal and amounts to some jail time.

Dave

ETA: Beautiful Falcons by the way

Same here in the wilds of Western North Carolina. We always have to keep and eye out for falcons / hawks - as they had no problem attacking a drone in THEIR AIRSPACE - not the FAA's BTW.

We have few eagles in the area and never see them when flying.

My guess on any stressed raptor is it's HUMANS who are far too close to their nest and bothering them - not a drone. Maybe they don't like camera's watching them 24 / 7 too - yet that is everyday in UK and most American bigger cities. The "NON-GENDER BASED HUMANOID" is always watching!

 

[Dave Maine]

To monitor a drone’s presence requires a location transmitter located on the drone. New drones have them built in. Old ones don’t. It will eventually be legally required in all probability.

 

[cgmaxed]

A drone !? Give me a break. The audio picks up the cars below very easily. If that's the case, and a drone was nearby, you should be able to hear the drone as well. If this group is so concerned, all they have to do is go there and look up and listen for a drone. I bet a drone's motors would echo all over the place between the church and surrounding building. Witnesses would be easy to find. I doubt someone is flying a drone in the middle of that part of town.

 

[cgmaxed]

I am all for wildlife conservation and urban projects that try to keep birds of prey in the city. They help keep down rodent populations.

But automatically assuming a drone is the cause for supposedly agitated falcons is a stretch at best. Seems that drones are the popular evil these days. If it isn’t the press it’s the Eco groups blaming them for something. If they really want to know what is going on, they might try putting human eyes on the area.

Your exactly right. Overzelous media and eco freaks. Drone= evil. By the way, notice how easily the traffic below can be heard. If a drone was close enough to agitate the falcons, It's motors should be heard humming in the background. Drones are not quiet beasts whatsoever. Even though some blades are advertised as stealth, it's a relative term. They are still loud a ( Mod Removed Language)but darn loud.

 

[cgmaxed]

Hi everyone

Are there any apps available that could monitor if a drone is in the area? There's a wildlife group in Bath, UK, that suspects that a drone has been disturbing a pair of Peregrine Falcons that are due to nest.

You can see footage of how stressed they were.

Many thanks for any advice!

Drone monitoring takes a seriously expensive setup of radar and software systems. I read an article about it's deployment at the Las Vegas airport. They wanted to count how often the airports airspace was invaded and how close the drones got. It took a lot of time to set the system up and it's very expensive. This drone sensing equipment is just that. It only senses the drones and the drones' locations, It does not identify the drones , the pilots location or any ID signatures.

The drone sensing system was called AirGuard: Case Study: Las Vegas - Drone detection in action

 

[Deleted member 92101]

Drone monitoring takes a seriously expensive setup of radar and software systems. I read an article about it's deployment at the Las Vegas airport. They wanted to count how often the airports airspace was invaded and how close the drones got. It took a lot of time to set the system up and it's very expensive. This drone sensing equipment is just that. It only senses the drones and the drones' locations, It does not identify the drones , the pilots location or any ID signatures.

The drone sensing system was called AirGuard: Case Study: Las Vegas - Drone detection in action

Thank you!