Kamikaze Sniper Gulls vs the Mavic 2

[DiggerNZ]

I have a bright orange wrap around my Mavic 2 Pro. Have flown a few times now without birds hassling me. Just this week I had to go past about 7 seagulls circling the beach and not one made a move towards my drone. This is what it looks like.

 

[Blakjac]

Your drone is invading their home. You should quit harassing wildlife. You are attacking them. You give all drone flyiers a bad name and it leads to drones being banned. You can rationalize it all you want, but you are invading their airspace. Doesn't matter how slow your flying, how high, low, or how long you hover.

JustI liv

This article from National Geographic has a few ideas that could be adapted to a drone. Gulls Be Gone: 10 Ways to Get Rid of Pesky Birds . They are a invasive species in many areas and cause and spread disease. The ideas I liked were "owl eyes" and the article stated that reflective material can baffle birds, so mirrored or shiny tape and streamers may be an inexpensive deterrent. It also mentions strobe lights and "an interesting product, called an "optical fire gel," apparently looks like flames to a seagull and can be applied to many surfaces. (We see orange, but with their ability to see UV light, they get a different picture.)" And you may already be on the right track as they mention some people think the color red may work. These are opportunistic scavengers and are not like raptors or other protected species.

I live in the state of Ohio and a couple weeks ago, I was hovering at about 160 ft talking to my neighbor asking me questions and I looked up and saw this turkey vulture circling my drone with very impressive wing span. I was in the process of bringing the aircraft down anyway but it continued to circle us so I believe it was up to something. Does anybody have any experience with these types of birds and what should you do if you encounter this type of bird?

 

[Douglas Bader]

Red kite showing interest in my Zoom

JustI liv

I live in the state of Ohio and a couple weeks ago, I was hovering at about 160 ft talking to my neighbor asking me questions and I looked up and saw this turkey vulture circling my drone with very impressive wing span. I was in the process of bringing the aircraft down anyway but it continued to circle us so I believe it was up to something. Does anybody have any experience with these types of birds and what should you do if you encounter this type of bird?

Red Kite showing interest with my Zoom, they tend to be more inquisitive than attacking however most birds seem more interest with the Mavic rather than my inspire 2

 

[Blakjac]

Red kite showing interest in my Zoom

Red Kite showing interest with my Zoom, they tend to be more inquisitive than attacking however most birds seem more interest with the Mavic rather than my inspire 2

Awesome shot btw.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

JustI liv

I live in the state of Ohio and a couple weeks ago, I was hovering at about 160 ft talking to my neighbor asking me questions and I looked up and saw this turkey vulture circling my drone with very impressive wing span. I was in the process of bringing the aircraft down anyway but it continued to circle us so I believe it was up to something. Does anybody have any experience with these types of birds and what should you do if you encounter this type of bird?

Were also in Ohio and have not yet had any attacks or even threats from the Turkey Vultures they normally will not attack anything that is moving. They are really prone to avoidance in the air , should be ok .

 

[AMann]

Sea gulls = wildlife? Not in my book! Tell me that when they do-do (gotta watch my language) on your car & it ruins the paint. Tell me that when you set out some food & the miserable vermin steal it. Tell me that when you see them stealing eggs from tree nesting birds that are on the endangered list. Sea gulls - they take the place of skeet targets whenever possible! LOL!

Google: Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Seagulls are migratory, and there are a lot of them but thay are still protected under federal law.

Hey @Phantomrain.org - how about testing out a bright yellow and black striped bee suit? Many animals leave bees alone for their warning colors, and bee flies even mimic them for protection. Maybe they will even scare people away, with the sound of many bees and that giant bee hovering around, it may work! .

 

[remotepilot]

A solution for this is to buy (online, cuz I've never seen these anywhere else) the stickers that have eagle eyes and beak. You can get these from RCGEEK. Before this I had one Peregrin Falcon, two Red Tail Hawks and one Rough-legged Hawk checking out the UAV. Here's the link to Amazon and RCGEEK. Best of luck!

Amazon.com: RCGEEK Stickers Set 3M Drone Decals Facial Expression Skins Compatible DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom Mavic Pro Platinum/Pro Mavic Air Avoiding Birds Clashing, 8 Styles: Toys & Games

Buy RCGEEK Stickers Set 3M Drone Decals Facial Expression Skins Compatible DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom Mavic Pro Platinum/Pro Mavic Air Avoiding Birds Clashing, 8 Styles: Figures - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Blakjac]

Were also in Ohio and have not yet had any attacks or even threats from the Turkey Vultures they normally will not attack anything that is moving. They are really prone to avoidance in the air , should be ok .

Ok, probably more curious than anything. Lol I never really paid attention to how big they are in comparison to my bird. Me=Shaking?

 

[ff22]

Were also in Ohio and have not yet had any attacks or even threats from the Turkey Vultures they normally will not attack anything that is moving. They are really prone to avoidance in the air , should be ok .

I had a hummingbird check out mine - no damage to either side!

 

[marcorasi1960]

I often see seagulls and crows circling my Mavic 2 in a menacing way, and yelling at it, but they never make contact. Could it be that they want to scare the drone off, but would not be as daring as to touch it? Has anyone ever been actually hit by an angry bird?