Extremely close encounter with a bird!

[Drgnfli]

This is from one of our comm towers. I was doing some flight training out here as it's nice and wide open. The bird was building a nest and was actually gone when I flew up. It returned and didn't seem overly concerned with the drone. I was flying a M2Z so not as close as the video would make you think I was. Sorry, I didn't do any editing or add any music.

That is an Osprey & you are way too close to it! ! ! Your drone's presence may very well deter it from nesting at the site. We won't know it but it will just fly away & never come back. Then it must find another "safe" place to build its nest while that tower would have been a safe & secure place to raise its young! ! IMHO! (read up on this kind of stuff & don't get so close just because you can !)

 

[Raptorman]

It's pretty common for birds to do a strafing run on my drones with most doing it once and then moving on, but sometimes they come back numerous times. I've had a few close calls but birds are extraordinary fliers and can judge things with mm precision. In this video (see link below) I get strafed by Swifts I think and they just don't give up.

Brian

 

[Joe650]

That is an Osprey & you are way too close to it! ! ! Your drone's presence may very well deter it from nesting at the site. We won't know it but it will just fly away & never come back. Then it must find another "safe" place to build its nest while that tower would have been a safe & secure place to raise its young! ! IMHO! (read up on this kind of stuff & don't get so close just because you can !)

Yes it is an Osprey and shortly after that flight the nest was removed upon approval of all appropriate government agencies. The nest is a hazard to the tower and the RF is a danger to the bird and any eggs it would lay. I'd rather scare it away so it can nest in a "safe" place than have the eggs radiated by all the RF coming from the various transmitters on the tower.

We normally install some method of preventing them from building nests on the tower but hadn't gotten to this one yet.

If you had read my message the bird wasn't there when I first flew, it arrived after I was already up there. I clipped the video down to just show the bird but was actually training on tower inspections using a drone. I was also pretty far off the tower using the zoom to get the up close images.

 

[Brandaloo]

This is from one of our comm towers. I was doing some flight training out here as it's nice and wide open. The bird was building a nest and was actually gone when I flew up. It returned and didn't seem overly concerned with the drone. I was flying a M2Z so not as close as the video would make you think I was. Sorry, I didn't do any editing or add any music.

Very cool video!

 

[Joe650]

Very cool video!

Thanks!!

 

[Ron Caballero CAP]

Almost got Goosed here, Check out 6:48 of video. Just call me Sully.

Very nice video. I liked the smooth motion. Were you flying in Tripod Setting or, possibly, 60 fps? The flock of geese did not seem to have any effect on your drone.

 

[Terry63]

Yesterday while I was filming on some private land I looked into the video monitor, as I was turning to find another direction to shoot in I saw a brownish flash cross the screen. Having a good idea what it might have been and knowing that I was headed pretty much toward home I looked up at my drone and hit full forward. I took only a few seconds for the HAWK to circle around and it was directly behind and above my Mavic Pro. At that moment I began diving ( if you can call it that, Mavics descend pretty slowly ) and weaving, as you can see in the attached video. The Hawk remained behind my Mavic and I believe the erratic motion may have prevented it from diving at it. Or perhaps it was satisfied with running the drone off. I left and shot some video over a pond about a mile away. Not the pond you see in the video. From the ground I was unable to really see the color of the Hawk only the Silhouette, as it never got that close to me. But believe it was a red-tailed Hawk.

 

[Dale D]

French translation- I just received a very long French posting. Although I had 4 years of French, I could not make most of this out. So I copied and pasted it into Google Translate and got the following;

I almost lost my MA2 yesterday to a bird! It’s certainly not the first time I’ve encountered a bird, but it certainly is the scariest one! I usually fly up to 100m right after take off to avoid any birds flying in the Dallas area. My protocol when I meet a bird is to switch from the plane to sport mode and push the throttle all the way. It usually helps me gain altitude, after which I fly away from the bird. Most of the time, curious birds just fly close to the drone and don't really bother it. Yesterday, however, this bird viciously surrounded my drone. When I say circled, it was like a meter from the drone. It started when I was 75m in the air and no attempt to take off would have worked since I was afraid of crashing it into buildings / cars / people. My only option was to lower the altitude (since the drone's then current position was over grassy land), which I did and this bird circled my drone down to 5m from the ground! I think it was a predatory bird because it rarely hit its wings after it took to the skies (it wasn't tall either). This incident has me thinking of the worst - what if the mavic is indeed attacked by her? I'm assuming the bird will sustain propeller injuries, but that impact should also reduce the rpm of the engine hit by the bird, causing the Mavic to tip to one side. Would the Mavic come down to the ground because of the tilt (usually tilting the mavic stops it, doesn't it?) Or would the engine rev up and stabilize the plane? at a point below the original altitude? If anything chose, I think the folding props would help the drone in this case because the pro would simply bend upon impact, killing the stress flow at the pivot point rather than passing it all the way. in the center of the prop, as it would in the case of an prop Can someone who has encountered a similar situation share how isn't a face made? And does anyone have a comment on the protocol I followed (lowering it) when this bird started circling my dron?

 

[hhung516]

French translation- I just received a very long French posting. Although I had 4 years of French, I could not make most of this out. So I copied and pasted it into Google Translate and got the following;

I almost lost my MA2 yesterday to a bird! It’s certainly not the first time I’ve encountered a bird, but it certainly is the scariest one! I usually fly up to 100m right after take off to avoid any birds flying in the Dallas area. My protocol when I meet a bird is to switch from the plane to sport mode and push the throttle all the way. It usually helps me gain altitude, after which I fly away from the bird. Most of the time, curious birds just fly close to the drone and don't really bother it. Yesterday, however, this bird viciously surrounded my drone. When I say circled, it was like a meter from the drone. It started when I was 75m in the air and no attempt to take off would have worked since I was afraid of crashing it into buildings / cars / people. My only option was to lower the altitude (since the drone's then current position was over grassy land), which I did and this bird circled my drone down to 5m from the ground! I think it was a predatory bird because it rarely hit its wings after it took to the skies (it wasn't tall either). This incident has me thinking of the worst - what if the mavic is indeed attacked by her? I'm assuming the bird will sustain propeller injuries, but that impact should also reduce the rpm of the engine hit by the bird, causing the Mavic to tip to one side. Would the Mavic come down to the ground because of the tilt (usually tilting the mavic stops it, doesn't it?) Or would the engine rev up and stabilize the plane? at a point below the original altitude? If anything chose, I think the folding props would help the drone in this case because the pro would simply bend upon impact, killing the stress flow at the pivot point rather than passing it all the way. in the center of the prop, as it would in the case of an prop Can someone who has encountered a similar situation share how isn't a face made? And does anyone have a comment on the protocol I followed (lowering it) when this bird started circling my dron?

Small drones don't stand a chance when it comes to bird attacks. I do believe bright color would help to scare them away, but it's my theory yet to be proven. Maybe consider getting a bright red/orange skin for your drone?

 

[Terry63]

Small drones don't stand a chance when it comes to bird attacks. I do believe bright color would help to scare them away, but it's my theory yet to be proven. Maybe consider getting a bright red/orange skin for your drone?

I came to the same conclusion after I recorded
the video I posted above in Post #67. I ordered a custom skin from Decal Girl. Bright Yellow with eyes. I haven't encountered any raptors since I put the skin on. I did encounter a large group of Turkey Vultures this fall. They aren't an aggressive bird since they are not equipped to kill. The visibility of the bright yellow may have saved the drone from a collision however as the birds seemed to mainly be watching each other. Below is a link to the video I recorded of the encounter.
Turkey Vultures Geese

Where I live the only yellow birds are goldfinches. They are smaller than sparrows so I think the yellow color maybe a tip to raptors that my drone is not a flying meal.

 

[rehkram]

Of the bird incidents I've been through, the majority of them I didn't even know had occurred. It was only on playback on the big screen I realized something was going on.

I have a largish display (iPhone XS Max) but apparently that's not big- or bright enough for my eyes to be able to pick up every bird warning display in real time. I guess need a bigger and brighter display.

 

[Tiger64]

Always hard to predict with birds. Throughout Indonesia I have found Swallows to come out in force and try and intimidate the drone away.. both with the Mavic and the Inspire..clearly size does not count.. In Bali once some wild Cockatoo's emerged from a tree and massed around the Mavic..as I was only around 40ft altitude I decided just to bring it down and once they saw a human associated with the drone they went away. I often fly in New Zealand and the Harrier Hawk there is a big bird with a wingspan around a meter. Several times they have diverted to come for a very close look but never show signs of aggression. I read once the Dutch were training Eagles to intercept drones, not sure if that ended up as a working Squadron or not.

I am in nz and had a falcon take one of my drones out of the sky. It hit me from above and behind.

 

[sigi.stiemer]

Birds like to fly in groups, in particular, when they are using thermal upwind. They are not the greatest in detecting where those thermals are. When I was flying sailplanes (years ago) we sometimes had fun by pretending we had found a strong thermal and circling around it. Any hawk or eagle close by liked to join us hoping for an easy lift. Surely, we left that area and the new partners quickly, sheepishly leaving them in the bad air. We thought it was fun to mock the superior species for their lack of flying ability.
When flying a drone, I found a similar effect. Flying straight lines is fine, but flying circles seem to be attracting - mostly predatory - birds. Now the birds have the better cards, therefore I try to stay away from them and definitely avoid circling ...

 

[Cymruflyer]

Birds like to fly in groups, in particular, when they are using thermal upwind. They are not the greatest in detecting where those thermals are. When I was flying sailplanes (years ago) we sometimes had fun by pretending we had found a strong thermal and circling around it. Any hawk or eagle close by liked to join us hoping for an easy lift. Surely, we left that area and the new partners quickly, sheepishly leaving them in the bad air. We thought it was fun to mock the superior species for their lack of flying ability.
When flying a drone, I found a similar effect. Flying straight lines is fine, but flying circles seem to be attracting - mostly predatory - birds. Now the birds have the better cards, therefore I try to stay away from them and definitely avoid circling ...

I beg to differ, birds that use thermals are excellent at finding them, same for seagulls using ridge lift. When I used to fly I would look for the birds and go and join them. I've never know a large birds that likes to ride thermals to be, as you put it "Not the greatest in detecting where those thermals are".

If that were truly the case, how do you suppose they would ever find a thermal on their own? They were doing this very thing for centuries, long before any man even took to the sky. Also birds often fly alone, I mostly see single hawks out flying when I've been up in the summer mid day heat, same goes for eagles. Its the turkey vultures that tend to gather in large circling groups, riding thermals. And although hawks tend to mate for life, when you do see a pair out hanging thermals, you never see a group of them, they are either flying as a pair or more often, out flying alone.

And you stated.. "We thought it was fun to mock the superior species for their lack of flying ability", now Sigi, come on, you have to be joking right? You don't really think you are a better flyer in your little sail plane, compared to a hawk or eagle, do you?

 

[Cymruflyer]

French translation- I just received a very long French posting. Although I had 4 years of French, I could not make most of this out. So I copied and pasted it into Google Translate and got the following;

I almost lost my MA2 yesterday to a bird! It’s certainly not the first time I’ve encountered a bird, but it certainly is the scariest one! I usually fly up to 100m right after take off to avoid any birds flying in the Dallas area. My protocol when I meet a bird is to switch from the plane to sport mode and push the throttle all the way. It usually helps me gain altitude, after which I fly away from the bird. Most of the time, curious birds just fly close to the drone and don't really bother it. Yesterday, however, this bird viciously surrounded my drone. When I say circled, it was like a meter from the drone. It started when I was 75m in the air and no attempt to take off would have worked since I was afraid of crashing it into buildings / cars / people. My only option was to lower the altitude (since the drone's then current position was over grassy land), which I did and this bird circled my drone down to 5m from the ground! I think it was a predatory bird because it rarely hit its wings after it took to the skies (it wasn't tall either). This incident has me thinking of the worst - what if the mavic is indeed attacked by her? I'm assuming the bird will sustain propeller injuries, but that impact should also reduce the rpm of the engine hit by the bird, causing the Mavic to tip to one side. Would the Mavic come down to the ground because of the tilt (usually tilting the mavic stops it, doesn't it?) Or would the engine rev up and stabilize the plane? at a point below the original altitude? If anything chose, I think the folding props would help the drone in this case because the pro would simply bend upon impact, killing the stress flow at the pivot point rather than passing it all the way. in the center of the prop, as it would in the case of an prop Can someone who has encountered a similar situation share how isn't a face made? And does anyone have a comment on the protocol I followed (lowering it) when this bird started circling my dron?

A bird is excellent at everything in flight except gaining altitude very quickly. A drone is no where near as good at everything a bird can do, except gaining altitude quickly. Therefore, the safest thing to always do if you fear you are having an encounter with an attacking bird, is to quickly gain altitude and then fly away from that bird, above it. You can not descend very quickly with a drone and an attacking bird if far superior at descending on to your drone, which puts you at a disadvantage against an attacking bird. When possible, always quickly climb, then fly away, never descend.

 

[PeteTheJack]

A bird is excellent at everything in flight except gaining altitude very quickly. A drone is no where near as good at everything a bird can do, except gaining altitude quickly. Therefore, the safest thing to always do if you fear you are having an encounter with an attacking bird, is to quickly gain altitude and then fly away from that bird, above it. You can not descend very quickly with a drone and an attacking bird if far superior at descending on to your drone, which puts you at a disadvantage against an attacking bird. When possible, always quickly climb, then fly away, never descend.

Fortunately I've not had a close encounter with a bird, but the first time I flew my Air 2, in a location I'd flown in many time before, it was attacked by a swarm of hornets. Made a bit of a mess of the drone but it was a very uneven encounter.

 

[hhung516]

Birds like to fly in groups, in particular, when they are using thermal upwind. They are not the greatest in detecting where those thermals are. When I was flying sailplanes (years ago) we sometimes had fun by pretending we had found a strong thermal and circling around it. Any hawk or eagle close by liked to join us hoping for an easy lift. Surely, we left that area and the new partners quickly, sheepishly leaving them in the bad air. We thought it was fun to mock the superior species for their lack of flying ability.
When flying a drone, I found a similar effect. Flying straight lines is fine, but flying circles seem to be attracting - mostly predatory - birds. Now the birds have the better cards, therefore I try to stay away from them and definitely avoid circling ...

Whether they are good or bad at finding thermal upwind, I find your point regarding circling quite helpful! So from now on I’ll be doing zigzags LOL.

 

[sigi.stiemer]

I beg to differ, birds that use thermals are excellent at finding them, same for seagulls using ridge lift. When I used to fly I would look for the birds and go and join them. I've never know a large birds that likes to ride thermals to be, as you put it "Not the greatest in detecting where those thermals are".

If that were truly the case, how do you suppose they would ever find a thermal on their own? They were doing this very thing for centuries, long before any man even took to the sky. Also birds often fly alone, I mostly see single hawks out flying when I've been up in the summer mid day heat, same goes for eagles. Its the turkey vultures that tend to gather in large circling groups, riding thermals. And although hawks tend to mate for life, when you do see a pair out hanging thermals, you never see a group of them, they are either flying as a pair or more often, out flying alone.

And you stated.. "We thought it was fun to mock the superior species for their lack of flying ability", now Sigi, come on, you have to be joking right? You don't really think you are a better flyer in your little sail plane, compared to a hawk or eagle, do you?

I am not an ornithologist but was only a user of a modern total-energy variometer. Maybe that those instruments are better than generations of biological evolution ...

I admit we took advantage of circling birds when looking for thermals, while at the same time were always very careful not to get into their way or even hurting them.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I am not an ornithologist but was only a user of a modern total-energy variometer. Maybe that those instruments are better than generations of biological evolution ...

I admit we took advantage of circling birds when looking for thermals, while at the same time were always very careful not to get into their way or even hurting them.

And just think, they found the thermal without any fancy electronic instrumentation! I have flown for years in hang gliders and also used such instruments, but birds will always outfly us, not matter what we use. They are thousands of years ahead of us in evolution.

 

[sigi.stiemer]

And just think, they found the thermal without any fancy electronic instrumentation! I have flown for years in hang gliders and also used such instruments, but birds will always outfly us, not matter what we use. They are thousands of years ahead of us in evolution.

Hey, on which side are you, birds or mammals ?