Safety vs Law - UAV conundrums No 1413: Rising beyond 400 ft for hawks.

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

With flights in open countryside, I've found out that the bigger birds of prey are windy buggers who'll mainly hang around at a great height and watch. The birds that will really go for it are the swifts and swallows that come in like Exocet missiles, closely followed by seagulls, ravens, magpies and the odd crow, but every time I've been 'buzzed': it's been by the little dickie birds giving it the beans a lot closer to the ground. I reckon it's because they consider the drones colour and flight characteristics (periods of static hovering) a bit too hawk-ish for their liking.
So, would I climb above the max restriction ceiling to "avoid hawk attack"? No. Would I do the same for the smaller birds? No. If one of the big hawks or buzzards really went for it: I doubt you'd have enough time to react. The smaller birds aren't attacking, they're flying to scare a 'predator' off which means they'll peel off before they hit.

Pigeons, however, are a different thing altogether. They're just Forrest Gump thick.

It also helps to research what predatory birds are in the area. i.e. Bald Eagles go as far at 10 miles in search of food. And they will attack and protect if they are nesting or have eaglets. I know of a raptor rehabilitator who had his drone crushed by a Bald Eagle over a mile from it's nest. There is a national map of known Bald Eagle nesting areas. You can look it up by state and it will show you where the nests area.

 

[AeroJ]

pigeons being the exception again... cos they're as thick as mince

It's because their GPS modules are so big that there is only room for a tiny tiny brain in there. Still, one that can regularly outwit my cat, I notice...

Of course Pigeons had the first inbuilt RTH systems, which might explain why they are angry at ours

 

[akdrone]

I've been "attacked" by flocks of swallows but they just come close and never actually try to "attack". They are fast and of no concern as far as I can tell. Hawks may be different but we don't too many around here.

 

[DARKSeifer]

On every scenario safety > rules

Specially with drones, where the regulation is just made to leave you grounded instead of being faithful to the reality.

On a drone vs bird scenario, you need to climb. If the bird is still persistent, change to sport and pretend to attack it for 1-2 minutes, that means staying above it while you run after it at a safe distance of around 20-30 meters, don't get too close; specially useful with the sporadically aggressive seagull.

In the real world if you run you are food, every animal understands that, so never run horizontally before you climb at least 50 meters or so.

Don't stand still if there are birds around, and if it's a folk (doves, starlings, etc) just move up and away in a predictable way.

Most brids don't actually attack the drone, they are just curious and get close to see what it is, specially if it's the first drone in the area. I've been flying a few years almost every day in the same area, so birds there don't care at all about the drone, but if I fly in another area where no one flies drones, then some curious birds are expected.

Don't intentionally harass birds and other animals with your drone.

 

[Felix le Chat]

It also helps to research what predatory birds are in the area. i.e. Bald Eagles go as far at 10 miles in search of food. And they will attack and protect if they are nesting or have eaglets. I know of a raptor rehabilitator who had his drone crushed by a Bald Eagle over a mile from it's nest. There is a national map of known Bald Eagle nesting areas. You can look it up by state and it will show you where the nests area.

Don't think I need to worry about the baldies round my neck of the woods. The only one I've seen in 30 years was in a taxidermists window display