Maybe a tiny collision with bird? What do you think?

Hexagon · Jun 21, 2017

Hello to all..

I said it before and i say it again, i love flying above water. Long story short.. About a month ago i tried filming a small nearby island about 1.2 km away from beach. As i approached i saw dozens of birds laying around. When i finally reached the island i stopped and turned around slowly to watch the view. Lots of birds came around and i might have had a tiny collision as i was standing still... Watch the small bump at 1:13.. What do you think? I realized the bumb and hit sport mode to get back. Also made a 'crazy ivan' move to check if birds followed...

HSK · Jun 21, 2017

Probably just your gimbal acting up...

Former Member · Jun 21, 2017

Could have been a bird. At :50 and :58 there were a couple pretty close. Any damage to the Mavic?

Lake_Flyer · Jun 21, 2017

if a seabird hits your mavic, it goes down, it buys the ground, you can be sure about that, it's the gimbal. Those seabirds usually zip by very close, to scare the mavic away, but they would never just bump into it just like that. They might **** all over it though. They always hit the bullseye spot on, and that can be harmful.

You got nerves to fly that far over the sea to such a small island, as you can expect anything to happen while flying over a seabirds sanctuary. They usually are extremely territorial, all seabirds are. I would never trust my bird out of visual range over the ocean to an uninhabited island, knowing that it will potentially wake up thousands of aggressive seagulls.

You can get nice shots though and it's a thrill for sure (been there, done that, while i was still a hopeless drone amateur without a clue, yes I have been like that). There's a little bird island here in the lake at a similar distance with thousands of nesting cormorants, big, bad tempered, strong and fast. I always took care not too come close after once being followed and dived at, by a whole flock of them. Scared the hell out of me.

what's wrong with the word hell? funny, it doesn't even existt, not in my world, which is a globe btw

Hexagon · Jun 22, 2017

@HSK you are probably right my friend.. however, I have had lots of flights and I always watch my videos after and never noticed a similar gimbal act

@Thunderdrones No damage at all, checked everything

@Lake_Flyer I have tons of flights with my previous drone as well as the Mavic above sea.. I have visited many small islands and got some serious shots while knowing the risk. My long distance flights are only above sea because if something goes wrong it will only hurt my pocket at the end of the day. It was the first time visiting this particular island so I had no clue there would be so many birds. This is way I returned as soon as things went bananas. I have flights @5km away at the open sea chasing fishing boats for a nice shot... I have been rewarded a few times for my courage. I have good control over the Mavic and I trust it.

(youtube screenshot)

Lake_Flyer · Jun 22, 2017

Hexagon said:
@HSK you are probably right my friend.. however, I have had lots of flights and I always watch my videos after and never noticed a similar gimbal act

@Thunderdrones No damage at all, checked everything

@Lake_Flyer I have tons of flights with my previous drone as well as the Mavic above sea.. I have visited many small islands and got some serious shots while knowing the risk. My long distance flights are only above sea because if something goes wrong it will only hurt my pocket at the end of the day. It was the first time visiting this particular island so I had no clue there would be so many birds. This is way I returned as soon as things went bananas. I have flights @5km away at the open sea chasing fishing boats for a nice shot... I have been rewarded a few times for my courage. I have good control over the Mavic and I trust it.
View attachment 15553
(youtube screenshot)

That's exactly what I meant, you got nerves. I fly a lot over water, but (since 2 years) only keeping it in VLOS, because as a certified commercial pilot I simply have to, and I'm not going to lose my license because of a recreational flight.

I was speaking in general for the larger public. You know obviously what you're doing but a lot of people just do it without overthinking the possible dangers. You were right to hurl back in sport mode. That was a good decision. Next to quickly rising would have been, most birds seem to loose interest if you take it to a higher altitude fast. They often choose not to waste their inertial energy by having to climb (they rather dive at a prey or intruder), and by ascending you show that you have no interest in their nests or hunting (fishing) grounds. I live at the water so I get to see behaviour of water/seabirds daily.

But respect! And great topic BTW.

Cheers
Jan