Hi all,

I did some more practice today and was in the vicinity of a lot of gooses.
In the meanwhile I encountered numerous videos on YouTube of drones being attacked by birds.
In almost all cases, the drone, or pilot, was looking for trouble, by "inspecting" nests or come very close.

Today I was pretty focused not to disturb the gooses too much.
While focusing on those gooses, the little champ got almost stuck in a swarm of other birds, I think swallows.

All went well, but I wondered if there is a real threat of the champ being attacked in mid air?
Any experiences?

Search youtube, all sorts of info.  

More than one goose is geese.

I've been checked out by hawks and crows, I just turn on them and start chasing them if possible, and they scram.
Some people have had eagles carry theirs away mid-flight .... it happens.  Only way to stop that is to have a drone big enough they can't carry.

You got more chance being attacked by a Crow than say the Buzzard or Kite, although, that really applies to the UK, cant really comment on the US budgies
and seen as you're in the US I shouldn't really comment, but hey ho, it is early, just woke up so, nowt else to do lol

Had a couple of close encounters with seagulls. They are quite agressieve. Grounded the drone untill they left.
Some swallows got interested too. Flying round the drone. But they didn't get that close as the seagulls. Getting up higher they didn't follow and get on chasing bugs.

Also had an encounter from some bees in the lavender fields in France. Unfortunatly some of them were killed by the drone's blades. Flying strait up, I lost them. They don't seem to fly that much high.

Untill now, no crashes or hurting birds. I always observe if there are birds around.
Some birds are very aggressive. Had a encounter with some sterns at the beach. Didn't even had my drone with me. Just wanting to take some sunset pictures with my camera. They came so close they touch my head.

So, just observe birds when you fly. If they seem too aggressive, just get out. Don't provoke. It only can result in hurting birds ... and your drone.

Hello there Hannibal_. Good day and thank you for reaching out.  Just a reminder that birds like Seagull are part of our natural environment and I'm sure they're not familiar to the drones that is why they react aggressively when they notice it. Thank you and please fly safe always.

1 million feet and no bird issues yet and I am surrounded by many types of birds. The only ones I worry about are the bald eagles and bigger ospreys. I avoid launching while they are overhead but don't change course if they come near. If dodging an agressive larger bird, try to go higher fast. They don't usually attack from below and the Mini 2, for example, can climb at 3 m/s in Normal mode while most birds are much slower.

thanks for correcting me.
English is not my native language and being a technician for a living, I don't encounter a lot of geese in my daily communication ;)

Yeah I saw a lot on youtube and had a (not too close) encounter with some birds yesterday.
But as I understand the threat is real.

JohnDG Posted at 9-13 18:12
Had a couple of close encounters with seagulls. They are quite agressieve. Grounded the drone untill they left.
Some swallows got interested too. Flying round the drone. But they didn't get that close as the seagulls. Getting up higher they didn't follow and get on chasing bugs.

Seagulls are indeed agressive sometimes. with or without drones.
I work at a terminal on the coast and when we go out walking in the breeding season, they will attack you.

Probably that is also what happened with your stern encounter....

The swallows seemed indeed more curious than anything else.

Did the bees went for your drone initially?

DJI Stephen Posted at 9-13 18:50
Hello there Hannibal_. Good day and thank you for reaching out.  Just a reminder that birds like Seagull are part of our natural environment and I'm sure they're not familiar to the drones that is why they react aggressively when they notice it. Thank you and please fly safe always.

Thanks!
We should avoid harming any wildlife with our gear, indeed.

GaryDoug Posted at 9-13 18:51
1 million feet and no bird issues yet and I am surrounded by many types of birds. The only ones I worry about are the bald eagles and bigger ospreys. I avoid launching while they are overhead but don't change course if they come near. If dodging an agressive larger bird, try to go higher fast. They don't usually attack from below and the Mini 2, for example, can climb at 3 m/s in Normal mode while most birds are much slower.

Okay.... that is a relief.

But you do watch out for them as I understand.

My natural reaction was descend yesterday, not go higher.... hmmmmmm....

Thanks!

Swallows are usually worse than other birds, but they never attacked my drone so far.

Gulls are the real enemy of the drone,  never had a problem with Canadian geese Ive come across.

Hannibal_ Posted at 9-13 23:45
Seagulls are indeed agressive sometimes. with or without drones.
I work at a terminal on the coast and when we go out walking in the breeding season, they will attack you.

when I was taking pictures of the lavender field, I saw a glitch flying in front of the camera. I went up as I was a couple of hundred meter away from where I was standing. The bees didn't follow the drone going straight up. But when I  brought the drone in, I had to clean it as some parts of the bees were smashed onto the drone.

Probably they were attracted by the humming noise of the props.

It didn't harm the drone in any way, but the more those little fellows.

Hannibal_ Posted at 9-13 23:49
Okay.... that is a relief.

But you do watch out for them as I understand.

it depends a bit on the situation. If you are near you can decent and wait until they loose interest.

Going up feels for them as the behaviour of a preditor. And some give up if you do.
Of course that's a bad strategy if you have to deal with eagles.

Have had close encounters with gulls and a hawk.  For the gulls I usually ascend quickly and they don't pursue.  The hawk was very aggressive.  This same hawk was reported to have swooped down on small dogs, cats and even some kids.  Fortunately for all the hawk was taken out by a mad dad.

JohnDG Posted at 9-14 04:23
it depends a bit on the situation. If you are near you can decent and wait until they loose interest.

Going up feels for them as the behaviour of a preditor. And some give up if you do.

ow....
so much to be aware of....

and not one best reaction, I understand ....

That eagels really catch drones is unbelievable, given what the drone did to my hand recently.

Poor bee's indeed....

DAFlys Posted at 9-14 00:11
Gulls are the real enemy of the drone,  never had a problem with Canadian geese Ive come across.

the geese yesterday simply went into the water and drifted away slightly.

I wasn't even near

DowntownRDB Posted at 9-14 04:44
Have had close encounters with gulls and a hawk.  For the gulls I usually ascend quickly and they don't pursue.  The hawk was very aggressive.  This same hawk was reported to have swooped down on small dogs, cats and even some kids.  Fortunately for all the hawk was taken out by a mad dad.

wow....

kids attacked?

fortunately I don't see to many hawks here, buzzard yes, Falcons too...

drone attacked by birds; drone collide with bird (bird strikes):  much talked about; rarely really happens

Birds typically ascend at a maximum rate of 0.3 to 1 m/s; very rarely small breeds go 2 m/s. The Mini2 can outrun them vertically at 3 m/s (ascending).  Birds usually attack from above, where the props are. You do not want to let them stop the motors. Go way up and return by another path. Many common birds can dive (over 10 m/s) much faster than the Mini 2 (3 m/s descending).

And pray the Peregrine does not think ya Mini (2) is a wee snack too, in a stoop it can reach up to nearly 90m/s (200mph)

Bashy Posted at 9-14 15:48
And pray the Peregrine does not think ya Mini (2) is a wee snack too, in a stoop it can reach up to nearly 90m/s (200mph)

"...is a wee snack..."

Or his intended mate ;-)

I have had a hawk stalking my Mini 2, I was not inspecting any nests or around trees, nests, etc.  They see something flying they think is food and want it.  The moment I saw him stalking my drone, I landed.
I have seen many youtube videos of bird attacks and the pilot wasn't disturbing anything relate to said bird, they were just in the  wrong place at the wrong time.

GaryDoug Posted at 9-14 14:15
Birds typically ascend at a maximum rate of 0.3 to 1 m/s; very rarely small breeds go 2 m/s. The Mini2 can outrun them vertically at 3 m/s (ascending).  Birds usually attack from above, where the props are. You do not want to let them stop the motors. Go way up and return by another path. Many common birds can dive (over 10 m/s) much faster than the Mini 2 (3 m/s descending).

tried that with a group sparrow yesterday...

They do go up high with you I saw.

They did not seem to be a big threat though. they circle around, seem curious.

but up and move away from the position did work a couple of times, diving away too... for the sparrows that is...

but ascending may be the best of the two, agree

GaryDoug Posted at 9-14 20:43
"...is a wee snack..."

Or his intended mate ;-)

@Bashy
yeah! wonderfull creatures! Not when they attack your drone of course... But I wonder if they would in mid air. They seem to be so intelligent. When you come near a nest, well different story of course and I would not like to be in your shoes
@GaryDoug

Well it would be interesting to see how DJI Mini version 3 would look like

Mhinc Posted at 9-14 22:03
I have had a hawk stalking my Mini 2, I was not inspecting any nests or around trees, nests, etc.  They see something flying they think is food and want it.  The moment I saw him stalking my drone, I landed.
I have seen many youtube videos of bird attacks and the pilot wasn't disturbing anything relate to said bird, they were just in the  wrong place at the wrong time.

Hmmmmm okay... I don't think the mini will digest well, though.
but you managed to work around him. pffffftttttt
not something I would like to encounter.

we have a lot of buzzards here.... big ones too... o... o...

It can happen. Bird attacks/collisions are something which worry me too. I would certainly never fly near wildlife or try to follow a flock intentionally but it's impossible to predict when or where you may encounter birds. I've had a couple of near misses, one was flying over a river in which my puny little Mini 2 would have ended up in the drink most likely and the bird injured or worse . It was a good sized bird too whizzed by right in front of the camera.

I have not yet had an intentional attack, came bloody close to what I think was a flock of flying rats mind, I'm talking feet and they swerved at the last second, video is on here somewhere, see below, there was actually to flocks, a smaller set came not as close a few seconds before and I had just raised the ac a little when seeing the 1st set but I cut that out though, its also slowed down x2 i believe... you've prob already seen the video mind as it wasn't long ago it happened, whats worse is, this was on a range test and I certainly was right near the home point ;)

I fly my drones past pelicans all the time. They are large but non-aggressive. They avoid my drones even though they must be thinking "What a noisy stupid little bird who does not know our avian right-of-way rules" ;-)

Hannibal_ Posted at 9-13 23:46
Thanks!
We should avoid harming any wildlife with our gear, indeed.

Hi there Hannibal_. You are very much welcome and thank you for the reply. Have a safe and a happy flying always. .

I've had a few close calls. Some small birds seemed to attempt to scare off my drone. Seagulls have come close a few times, I was shooting lighthouses, when a flock of seagulls came into my flight path twice. But my actual closest call was with a tree hanging over a lake, a small branch caught the drone. Luckily it righted itself quickly and I did not lose it!

I've also heard that with birds of prey, it is best to go straight up and distract them. then you can decide to land or see if the bird comes back again.

To add to all useful info, please be careful if horses are nearby. They can panic if a drone comes close. The sound make them think it's a swarm of aggressive bees or the like.
My only experience of birds are swallows which aggressively fly around the drone but never attack it.

Bashy Posted at 9-16 17:35
I have not yet had an intentional attack, came bloody close to what I think was a flock of flying rats mind, I'm talking feet and they swerved at the last second, video is on here somewhere, see below, there was actually to flocks, a smaller set came not as close a few seconds before and I had just raised the ac a little when seeing the 1st set but I cut that out though, its also slowed down x2 i believe... you've prob already seen the video mind as it wasn't long ago it happened, whats worse is, this was on a range test and I certainly was right near the home point ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU2eam-IRDk

OMG!!!

That truely was a whole flock of them!

GaryDoug Posted at 9-16 19:35
I fly my drones past pelicans all the time. They are large but non-aggressive. They avoid my drones even though they must be thinking "What a noisy stupid little bird who does not know our avian right-of-way rules" ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpTVXH9k1I

Hihi… indeed… gentle giants…

videoeditman Posted at 9-17 05:06
I've also heard that with birds of prey, it is best to go straight up and distract them. then you can decide to land or see if the bird comes back again.

A flying tree? Just kidding….

I noted the advice to go up, from several appreciated contributors here, but even though I realize it at the moment, I still dive away and get the champ to another horizontal position at the same time.
I don’t really like to fly above, say, 100m yet, for I don’t see her that good anymore. During the day that is.
When it’s darker she’s more visible due to the blinking light…

Up to now the major contestants are swallows here. And they seem, up to now, mostly curious.
The scary thing is that I may be getting used to them scoping mem(or better the little champ)…
Hope they don’t change their mind….

Johnny_J Posted at 9-17 05:12
To add to all useful info, please be careful if horses are nearby. They can panic if a drone comes close. The sound make them think it's a swarm of aggressive bees or the like.
My only experience of birds are swallows which aggressively fly around the drone but never attack it.

Yeah… true…

No experience with horses yet, but cows also get agitated, even when you think you are way outside the zone where it would give problems…
So I take more precautions to avoid them better too.

Well the swallows…. Agree, see previous post.

Swallows do not fly aggressively, thats just them trying to catch their food (insects), they are above my house all summer long.....

Bashy Posted at 9-17 17:41
Swallows do not fly aggressively, thats just them trying to catch their food (insects), they are above my house all summer long.....

Well, they do when my drone is close to them. They fly all around the drone which is a different flying pattern than when they hunt insects.

good question....

Real "threat" to drones are steel low bridges and remote pilots who wants to fly under such a bridge...  ;-)

Happy many landings,
Cheers
JJB