Share your tips on how to avoid birds!

[black_magic100]

If anybody has any advice when dealing with birds in the area please let me know. I live in Ohio and I see hawks everywhere, which means I never ever take my drone LOS or I know that it will be taken out of the sky.

Honestly I'm really surprised at how territorial birds are. The mavic is extremely loud so you'd think that they wouldn't attack it.

This is easily my biggest fear whenever I fly my bird especially if I am on vacation and don't know what birds are local.

 

[HiKen51]

If anybody has any advice when dealing with birds in the area please let me know.

In another thread it was emphasized that the best solution is reflective tape. I'm not sure that's true, but I've put strips of orange reflective all over my MP. Other than that I'm like you, I scan the sky for hawks and eagles.
Also, others have pointed out that birds do not easily fly up, they'll dive on your drone, so if a hawk is coming at you, sport mode up, up, and away from the bird full-throttle might help.

 

[RayOZ]

Personally, I think you should find somewhere else to fly. Those birds were there first, so they have dibs on the sky around that area.

 

[black_magic100]

Personally, I think you should find somewhere else to fly. Those birds were there first, so they have dibs on the sky around that area.

Yea unless they make an app that locates the airspace in which a bird owns I don't really think that is a realistic thing to say. The one time my drone was almost taken out of the sky (literally less than a foot away) there were no birds in the sky.

 

[black_magic100]

In another thread it was emphasized that the best solution is reflective tape. I'm not sure that's true, but I've put strips of orange reflective all over my MP. Other than that I'm like you, I scan the sky for hawks and eagles.
Also, others have pointed out that birds do not easily fly up, they'll dive on your drone, so if a hawk is coming at you, sport mode up, up, and away from the bird full-throttle might help.

Yea it seems like that is the only solution. I really don't want to throw reflective tape on my beautiful mavic though, but then again if it works it works.

 

[MartinFahrer]

I heard birds avoid yellow, saw this on another drone forum some where. I have been thinking of maybe adding a yellow skin to the body to see my drone better and avoid birds. Anyone know if this is true. What about the color red?

 

[RayOZ]

Yea unless they make an app that locates the airspace in which a bird owns I don't really think that is a realistic thing to say. The one time my drone was almost taken out of the sky (literally less than a foot away) there were no birds in the sky.

Some birds are territorial. They’ll let you know if you are in their airspace. I guess you won’t know until you have your drone up. After that find another spot.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

full throttle and straight up, once high enough increase distance rapidly.

 

[black_magic100]

I heard birds avoid yellow, saw this on another drone forum some where. I have been thinking of maybe adding a yellow skin to the body to see my drone better and avoid birds. Anyone know if this is true. What about the color red?

I heard red was good because it made your bird look like a predator or something along those lines.

 

[black_magic100]

full throttle and straight up, once high enough increase distance rapidly.

While this is very good advice, it definitely depends on the situation. If you are like me going straight up would result in the bird hitting the drone. Bird attack from above so unless it is far enough away going straight up may not be the best route. I would say that this is the best method if you are able to see the bird several seconds before it even starts to attack.

In my situation I jerked the throttle left because it was legit on top of my drone. I actually have no clue how I survived because it was all so fast. I was looking at my remote and for whatever reason looked up at my drone, which was already in sport mode thank god, and by the time my eyes spotted the drone the bird had already begun to extend his legs!

 

[black_magic100]

Some birds are territorial. They’ll let you know if you are in their airspace. I guess you won’t know until you have your drone up. After that find another spot.

Yes this exactly. I have no problem with taking my drone down if I know there is danger, but I live in Ohio around the suburbs of Cincinnati and let me tell you.... Hawks are legit everywhere.

It really stinks to because I have to worry about getting a good shot, making sure my camera settings are good, making sure drone settings are fine, which ND filter do I need etc etc etc and then on top of all that, even if I take every precaution necessary, a raptor can still rip my bird out of the sky in 1 second.

P.s. I do have State Farm insurance, but I'd rather not have to make a claim.

 

[skadee]

Why not fly forward or sideways at the same altitude? If the talons are out, they are likely expecting to continue to dive onto their prey, they won’t be ready to continue to fly forward, or better yet, forward and upward simultaneously, and if you have enough time, zig-zag while dropping flares.

You do have the flare option, right?

 

[black_magic100]

Why not fly forward or sideways at the same altitude? If the talons are out, they are likely expecting to continue to dive onto their prey, they won’t be ready to continue to fly forward, or better yet, forward and upward simultaneously, and if you have enough time, zig-zag while dropping flares.

You do have the flare option, right?

I did fly forward and I believe to the left and like you said the bird wasn't ready to fly forward and he had to catch himself.

No I don't have flares on my mavic unfortunately. That must be the newer model.

 

[Cuervo]

I spend some time looking around before I fly, give things a chance to settle down after I arrive on scene, birds and such will resume their business and I can see what's going on in the neighborhood.
Sometimes I don't fly, as much not to disturb birds and animals as worrying about the drone.
There are numerous peregrine falcon pairs along this stretch of the coast, they're hard to spot and would be impossible to outmaneuver.

 

[MadProphet]

I was flying above our local lake and flew out over the spillway since I saw it was open as I drove in. I was taking a few pictures when I heard and then saw on my iPad that MANY swallows(?) were surrounding my Mavic. In seconds it went from a couple doing fly-byes to literally dozens circling my bird. The fact that I could hear them simply didn't register as I initially thought I was seeing insects on the screen.
The sound got louder quickly and I realized they were very close to my Mavic so I chose to escape straight up. From about 60' to nearly 300' they were circling.
Soon as they were below me I got the heck outta there.
Still want to go back as the spillway would be very cool to capture in full flow.

 

[Just_nick]

Why not fly forward or sideways at the same altitude? If the talons are out, they are likely expecting to continue to dive onto their prey, they won’t be ready to continue to fly forward, or better yet, forward and upward simultaneously, and if you have enough time, zig-zag while dropping flares.

You do have the flare option, right?

You're vastly underestimating the capabilities of a bird of prey. They're dive-bombing from above, at speeds far exceeding what a Mavic is capable of (think 120mph+), and they can correct their trajectory even if you weave or accelerate. You're utterly mistaken if you think you have any chance at all of outrunning a hawk or falcon. You need to pull a maneuver that normal birds cannot, such as a last-minute full sideways maneuver, reverse directions, or shoot upward while you have a chance.

 

[Marko9219]

I put a flourescent green skin and reflective prismatic strips on mine along with a brilliantly bright strobe on it Just trying to make it look like ANYTHING but another bird in the air

 

[BLOGoose]

Talking to a friend who works for the local air ambulance she said hawks get pissed when the helo is in their territory.

 

[HiKen51]

If you have hawks and crows in your area, you know that crows know exactly how to handle hawks. They attack from above, diving down on the hawk because they know the hawk can't suddenly fly upward to grab them. I have, however, seen a hawk flip onto its back to try to catch an attacker coming from above, but this is pretty rare. My strategy is #1 stay away from hawks and eagles when possible, but if I ever see one diving on my MP, I hope I'd have the presence of mind to go UP Up and AWAY at the same time.
Most hawks that you see circling in the sky in N. America are Red-Tailed hawks. They are for the most part ground feeders,catching snakes, squirrels and rabbits. I've never seen one catch anything in the air. They're big and not terribly agile flyers.
Hawks that hunt other birds are usually falcons, and you rarely see them circling. They typically hunt from a perch. They fly straight and fast, catching prey from behind or while on the ground. They don't soar, but flap, glide, flap, glide for the most part.
As to the territoriality of red-tails, I spent one spring observing three nests within a half mile of each other and never observed any territorial disputes among the nesting pairs. Red tails drift and hunt over huge expanses. One that's directly overhead may be a mile away a few minutes later. I'm guessing that if they dive on a drone, they think it's prey. And their prey flies straight and fast. They know how to compensate for that movement.
Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles also mainly eat things they catch at ground or water level, but will hunt waterfowl also. Flying waterfowl go straight and fast, so trying to escape by flying horizontally way from a hunting eagle seems like a BAD idea. If the attacker is coming from a distance, going up may not save you, but it will no doubt surprise the eagle because its normal prey can't do that.
Well, I'm just thinking out loud here, based on years of observing hawks and eagles in action. Hope this helps a little. UP UP AND AWAY!

 

[Wcordes]

My experience with Red Tails is they either ignore my Mavic or fly in the other direction. I see them almost every time I fly and still have not been able to get them on camera (may be have warrants).