Hi I know it’s not something your supposed to do, but what would happen if I flew close enough to get decent photos/videos of huge flicks of birds?
In this instance a flock of murmaration as it’s called of starlings
The aerial display from these is just stunning to watch & I would like to share my experience of this with others who aren’t as fortunate as me to witness this spectacular show of swirling & twisting
I don’t own another camera so can’t take shots from the ground & Mobile images don’t give it any justice.
Has anyone had experience in flying close to birds & any tips that may help me

Just watching how fast they move about would make me very wary of getting close enough to film. Pls post the results if you decide to give it a go.

Do not approach to bird's nesting areas in the breeding season, they become very agressive. Starling clouds can be dangerous, although I guess that they will fly away from your drone

https://youtu.be/eakKfY5aHmY

This is what it’s like & would like to video it myself
They come in from town centres to roost

For starlings, no need to take to the air, I think it would be best to put the drone on a wall or maybe the ground and lean it back a little so the props are out of the image even if you look up the extra 30 degrees.  If you don't fly then the battery lasts ages and wont run out at just the wrong time!

The best views will always be with the birds against the sky, not looking down with them against the ground. Since they only fly in large flocks around sunset/sunrise, they would be black birds against dark ground, much better looking up as dark birds against a bright sky.  You can't look up if you are flying since the props are in the way.

In general some flocks of birds will ignore the drone, others will attack, others will be frightened and leave, so unless you know what you are doing it is best to keep well out of the way.
If you frighten them away then remember that there are millions of RSPB members that will be after you and very happy to use the law - many birds are protected and disturbing them is illegal, and unlike the drone laws, the bird protection laws do get used!

Hey Europe.  Can you please come and get your 50 million starlings?

Love,

The USA

If they come at you > Left stick forward. Best way to evade birds.
Straight up.

I had a run in with some Canadian geese that invaded MY airspace...  A treeline obscured both their and my vision of the other the all of the sudden they were all around my bird...  I just had to stop in the air and let them navigate around me....  here's an edited video of it.

Oldmaninwva Posted at 2018-2-16 01:12
I had a run in with some Canadian geese that invaded MY airspace...  A treeline obscured both their and my vision of the other the all of the sudden they were all around my bird...  I just had to stop in the air and let them navigate around me....  here's an edited video of it.

We stopped calling them Canadian Geese about 20 years ago when they quit migrating. Now, they’re just New Joisey chickens. They’re are thousands of them in my neighborhood. Now their migration consists of a morning flight to any open space with grass, and afternoon walk across the street during rush hour traffic and an evening flight back to the brackish waters snaking between communities. I like to fly in the mornings when people haven’t arrived in the parks yet. NJ chickens like to fly at the same time. It’s a gamble some mornings.

Jeff

With slow motion and faded transitions I edited this close encounter with seagulls

Turn off all sensors. They tend to disturb animals. Other than that fly safe and try not to get hit!

Jeff Millard Posted at 2018-2-16 01:42
We stopped calling them Canadian Geese about 20 years ago when they quit migrating. Now, they’re just New Joisey chickens. They’re are thousands of them in my neighborhood. Now their migration consists of a morning flight to any open space with grass, and afternoon walk across the street during rush hour traffic and an evening flight back to the brackish waters snaking between communities. I like to fly in the mornings when people haven’t arrived in the parks yet. NJ chickens like to fly at the same time. It’s a gamble some mornings.

Jeff

New Joisey Chickens Huh??  I like that...  But it's true a lot no longer migrate from the area...

Oldmaninwva Posted at 2018-2-16 17:17
New Joisey Chickens Huh??  I like that...  But it's true a lot no longer migrate from the area...

Yep. Populations have increased 1000 fold. It's really disgusting what they do to open green space.

Jeff

Nigel_'s advice is the best...otherwise engaging with birds in their element exposes the drone to possible damage and of course the birds...and I don't think you are interested in filming carnage of that sort.

I think bird photography and drones are generally a bad idea, the lenses/zoom (on consumer drones at least) aren't good enough, and in general you just want to avoid/respect birds airspace at all costs IMO; for both the bird's/your drone's health

I think you could serendipitously get a great shot of a swarm, but realize that birds are most acute to the presence of drones; the kind of birds your describing will likely get as far away from your drone as fast as they can. Predatory hawks will definitely attack small drones (RIP my first micro drone), and may attack larger ones (youtube search.)  Some smaller prey birds will dive bomb you drone.

I just avoid them, ground based photography is superior for bird photography (somewhat ironically)

Jeff Millard Posted at 2018-2-16 17:23
Yep. Populations have increased 1000 fold. It's really disgusting what they do to open green space.

Jeff

The same could be said about people and littering.  Perspective.

Oracle Miata Posted at 2018-2-24 11:03
The same could be said about people and littering.  Perspective.

Word.

Jeff