HOW TO: Avoid seagulls with your drone.

[wco81]

This YouTuber lists several strategies.

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Has anyone tried these products, red reflective tape, red propellers and the strobe light, which is kind of pricey at $60.

 

[MS Coast]

This YouTuber lists several strategies.

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Has anyone tried these products, red reflective tape, red propellers and the strobe light, which is kind of pricey at $60.

There's no real evidence that reflective surfaces or a particular color repel birds. Yes, there are lots of social media testimonials and claims, but then there are social media claims that a glass jar full of water will keep a dog from entering your yard and that the Earth is as flat as Kansas.

I haven't looked specifically for strobe lights as bird deterrents. There are good options for far less than $60, Vifly and Firehouse are two good brands. The danger of bird attacks on drones is frequently exaggerated. There have certainly been cases of physical attacks of drones by falcons, hawks, and other aerial predators, but they are very rare.

 

[Deleted member 191071]

I don't know what it is but Scandinavian birds must be very chill when it comes to drones. I hav been flying avidly for more that 4 years now with Neo, Mini 3 pro and Air 3 / 3S and birds in general completely ignore my drones and attack me instead, at least during mating season in the spring. We have several seagull families nesting on the roofs of the buildings in my area and they are very aggressive when I walk our dog but the completely ignore my drones.

With that said, as an insurance, I put red / white reflective tape on the top of my drones as I believe it's about making it clear to the birds that it's an artificial contraption and not a threatening / competing bird. $9 for a roll on Amazon.

 

[Rchawks]

Welcome to the forum. I use to live (and fly) on the gulf coast and I know what you mean about seagulls (rats with wings)

 

[MS Coast]

I don't know what it is but Scandinavian birds must be very chill when it comes to drones. I hav been flying avidly for more that 4 years now with Neo, Mini 3 pro and Air 3 / 3S and birds in general completely ignore my drones and attack me instead, at least during mating season in the spring. We have several seagull families nesting on the roofs of the buildings in my area and they are very aggressive when I walk our dog but the completely ignore my drones.

With that said, as an insurance, I put red / white reflective tape on the top of my drones as I believe it's about making it clear to the birds that it's an artificial contraption and not a threatening / competing bird. $9 for a roll on Amazon.

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There's no real evidence that red and white reflective material keeps birds away.

 

[Deleted member 191071]

There's no real evidence that red and white reflective material keeps birds away.

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That is correct, I saw your previous post stating the same. I hope this is not a contentious subject. Also those signs seem very earthbound and stationary to me.

As long as no institute or university launches a study into this subject I suppose we'll have to resort to personal belief and experience.

 

[Rchawks]

Is it the bird or the tape? Since putting this up I have had zero problems with birds crapping on the car except during a bad snowstorm which is the reason for the bird spikes you see.

 

[MS Coast]

That is correct, I saw your previous post stating the same. I hope this is not a contentious subject. Also those signs seem very earthbound and stationary to me.

As long as no institute or university launches a study into this subject I suppose we'll have to resort to personal belief and experience.

No, it's not at all contentious to me. I'm just a believer in the scientific method and verifiable cause and effect.

The only evidence to support red and white reflective things repelling birds is in the form of "I haven't had a bird attack since I put the reflective tape on the drone." But for each case like that, there's also the hundreds (thousands?) of people who didn't put reflective tape on their drones and also haven't had a bird attack.

Yes, those sighs are definitely stationary. Are you suggesting that the motion is required for a red and white reflective object to repel birds?

 

[Rchawks]

Judging from the way a bird attacked me last week I don’t think the tape or much of anything else would have changed it’s mind. It sized me up from a pretty good distance away and then came at me with several attacks before disappearing. This was a first for me, beyond barn swallows and such but one this was one determined bird and pretty darn scary.

 

[wco81]

I was on the island of Zakynthos, one of the Ionian islands of Greece, on the west coast, between Italy and Greece.

The island has several dramatic cliffs dropping down to the ocean.

Most of the island has no flying restrictions for drones.

And the most eery thing, I didn't see a sea gull anywhere. There are a lot of coastal cities so if seagulls were going to be drawn there, it would smell a lot of food around outdoor cafes and such. On one part of the island, I did hear some bird squawking in the distance but I couldn't see any birds. In fact very few birds.

It's really not far off the coast of the mainland. Maybe that has something to do with it, they're drawn to a much larger landmass nearby. I also didn't see too many fishing boats. Maybe they don't fish much and they just ship seafood to the island.

 

[Rchawks]

I couldn’t imagine being on the coast somewhere and not seeing seagulls. That would be a strange feeling. I use to have some 8mm footage where I tried to feed some bread to one and was swarmed instantly by a dozen or more and had to drop to a fetal position because I was worried about by my eyes being poked out. RWW (rats with wings). Wife told me no more of that!

 

[wco81]

By contrast I'm in Corfu now and there are pigeons all over the place. They don't bother flying away when you approach them. Maybe the heat but they're waiting for food to be thrown down on the ground. Hell there are cats around but apparently the cats don't bother.

Yeah no pigeons in Zakynthos either.

 

[Bad Santa]

I can't remember what I was eating one day at the beach when I saw seagulls begging about 10 feet away. I tossed something to them and in the next 10 seconds I was swarmed with seagulls.
I tried to toss one of the items to each one but they got very aggressive. I ended up tossing the entire bag about 10 feet away.
It was surreal.

 

[Rchawks]

I can't remember what I was eating one day at the beach when I saw seagulls begging about 10 feet away. I tossed something to them and in the next 10 seconds I was swarmed with seagulls.
I tried to toss one of the items to each one but they got very aggressive. I ended up tossing the entire bag about 10 feet away.
It was surreal.

So True!

 

[motocatfish]

Dr. Evil sez you need "friggin' sharks with friggin' laser beams attached to their friggin' heads!" ;-)
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[GadgetGuy]

I can't remember what I was eating one day at the beach when I saw seagulls begging about 10 feet away. I tossed something to them and in the next 10 seconds I was swarmed with seagulls.
I tried to toss one of the items to each one but they got very aggressive. I ended up tossing the entire bag about 10 feet away.
It was surreal.

In the winter, our sea gulls will catch small wadded up pieces of bread tossed at them in the air. Bill catching! You can pick the individual sea gull you want to feed from among the hoards that will quickly surround you from above. If they happen to fumble the catch, the lazy ones on the ground will quickly grab up the scraps. Some will also try and dive bomb from above, to intercept thrown pieces before the intended sea gull can catch it. Kind of like Sea Gull Football, with you being the quarterback and bread being the football thrown to your receivers who eat it. Interceptions happen, as do fumbles. They also know not to poop on you during your feeding of them.

 

[Rchawks]

In the winter, our sea gulls will catch small wadded up pieces of bread tossed at them in the air. Bill catching! You can pick the individual sea gull you want to feed from among the hoards that will quickly surround you from above. If they happen to fumble the catch, the lazy ones on the ground will quickly grab up the scraps. Some will also try and dive bomb from above, to intercept thrown pieces before the intended sea gull can catch it. Kind of like Sea Gull Football, with you being the quarterback and bread being the football thrown to your receivers who eat it. Interceptions happen, as do fumbles. They also know not to poop on you during your feeding of them.

Perfect description!!

 

[wco81]

Flew on the northern coast of Corfu Island today. It's close to Albania to the east and to the west is Puglia, Italy. It's about an 30-60 minutes by plane to the north of Zakythos -- though like 5-10 hours by ferry I believe.

No sea gulls seen or heard. Plenty of pigeons in the main city on the island, which is an hour to the southeast. But not much signs of other marine birds.

 

[Rchawks]

They’re always looking for a food source, maybe they were somewhere else or a reduced population. Does seem strange though, they were everywhere as I remember 30 yrs of so ago. They can be annoying at times but you got to admire they're no crumb go to waste passion, . I used to enjoy flying with them when I sloped so that’s another side of seagulls most people never see.