Fly With An Eagle

[RadioFlyerMan]

Exciting and scary. Didn’t want to get too close. Eagles fly fast!

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[BerndM]

Beautiful

 

[Porky]

I bet the eagle had already clocked your drone, cool though

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

I bet the eagle had already clocked your drone, cool though

As a matter of fact he did. I was heading north with the sun basically behind me when I saw a huge shadow crossing my path. It was very large and I kinda panicked. So I panned around and there he was to the south.

I’ve always thought that if I could see a bird approaching that the best course of action would be to go straight up. After observing the Eagle, that may not work. I was amazed how quickly they can gain altitude.

I was flying from my driveway, and eventually the bird flew right over my house on a straight line due west at about 200 feet, probably heading “home” in the National Lakeshore. I decided to leave well enough alone. Probably couldn’t keep up with it anyway, and it would just cause trouble.

The two other birds that I need to be careful of that frequent my house, especially in spring, are ravens and owls.

 

[Olderguyjim]

As a matter of fact he did. I was heading north with the sun basically behind me when I saw a huge shadow crossing my path. It was very large and I kinda panicked. So I panned around and there he was to the south.

I’ve always thought that if I could see a bird approaching that the best course of action would be to go straight up. After observing the Eagle, that may not work. I was amazed how quickly they can gain altitude.

I was flying from my driveway, and eventually the bird flew right over my house on a straight line due west at about 200 feet, probably heading “home” in the National Lakeshore. I decided to leave well enough alone. Probably couldn’t keep up with it anyway, and it would just cause trouble.

The two other birds that I need to be careful of that frequent my house, especially in spring, are ravens and owls.

Nice this one is believable so many I see here are not.

 

[Cymruflyer]

As a matter of fact he did. I was heading north with the sun basically behind me when I saw a huge shadow crossing my path. It was very large and I kinda panicked. So I panned around and there he was to the south.

I’ve always thought that if I could see a bird approaching that the best course of action would be to go straight up. After observing the Eagle, that may not work. I was amazed how quickly they can gain altitude.

I was flying from my driveway, and eventually the bird flew right over my house on a straight line due west at about 200 feet, probably heading “home” in the National Lakeshore. I decided to leave well enough alone. Probably couldn’t keep up with it anyway, and it would just cause trouble.

The two other birds that I need to be careful of that frequent my house, especially in spring, are ravens and owls.

They can only climb as quickly as the thermal they are in, allows them to. So stronger the thermal, the quicker they will ascend. If you were there in that thermal too, then you would be outclimbing the Eagle if you added power to climb. Even if not in that thermal, you will have sufficient power to climb faster than the Eagle can actually flap to climb. One thing all birds don't do too well, is climb to altitude, using their wings.

That is why, when having a bird attack problem, the best action is to quickly climb up and then fly away from them, they will not be able to climb up as quickly as your drone.

 

[TheWolfen]

Nice catch! I'm amazed you could keep tracking it so well in flight, especially in bright daylight. What phone/tablet do you use, out of curiosity? I'm trying to solve the whole 'screen visibility in daylight' thing.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Nice catch! I'm amazed you could keep tracking it so well in flight, especially in bright daylight. What phone/tablet do you use, out of curiosity? I'm trying to solve the whole 'screen visibility in daylight' thing.

Thanks. I'm using an iPad Mini 4 with just Wifi. When I first got the pad, the shiny screen was a problem, so I added a non-glare film. With the brightness turned all the way up, it is difficult to see details especially if I'm not in the shade. I lost track of the bird a couple of times while taking the shot. I did order a shade from amazon and it's on its way. We'll see what happens. Maybe I should get one of those Crystal Sky screens.

Speaking of "catch", I find it hard to get a view on things flying around. I was just lucky this time.

Regarding the video, the quality is very poor as I was so panicked at the time I forgot to pay attention to the exposure. I had to do a lot of fiddling around to make it reasonable. And my yaw speeds were jerky, but it was all I could do to keep up with the eagle. They move!

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

They can only climb as quickly as the thermal they are in, allows them to. So stronger the thermal, the quicker they will ascend. If you were there in that thermal too, then you would be outclimbing the Eagle if you added power to climb. Even if not in that thermal, you will have sufficient power to climb faster than the Eagle can actually flap to climb. One thing all birds don't do too well, is climb to altitude, using their wings.

That is why, when having a bird attack problem, the best action is to quickly climb up and then fly away from them, they will not be able to climb up as quickly as your drone.

Yeah, your right.
I have paid attention to smaller birds and figured I've got them beat going straight up. It was just that in one part of the video, the eagle was below me, and a few seconds later, it was at my altitude. And with the wide angle lens of the Pro Platinum, I might not necessarily be in the eagle's thermal. But going up is still the best strategy.
Where I live, we also have a lot of pigeon hawks and coopers hawks. Someday the predatory birds are going to take me out.

 

[LazyBird]

Nice shot. We have lots of Kites (Milvus Migrans) in the sky whole year round. I've thought many times of capturing some footage with my Mavic Air, particularly when they swoop down in droves while scavenging sometimes. Would make for amazing footage. But I'm not sure how the birds (being hunters and scavengers) will react to a flying object the size of a pigeon close by. Those talons look awfully sharp.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Nice shot. We have lots of Kites (Milvus Migrans) in the sky whole year round. I've thought many times of capturing some footage with my Mavic Air, particularly when they swoop down in droves while scavenging sometimes. Would make for amazing footage. But I'm not sure how the birds (being hunters and scavengers) will react to a flying object the size of a pigeon close by. Those talons look awfully sharp.

Thanks.
I’ve been flying without concern for birds all winter long, but my guess is they will get more territorial in spring, and more aggressive.
I’ll tell you a need shot to get... geese. That would be too cool! Maybe they won’t be as aggressive as a predator bird. They fly over my house mostly in fall.