Lately I have been suffering with birds, to the point that I am afraid to fly, what movements do you recommend to avoid them?


My fly zones are in Arizona and Baja California, theres a lot of hawks and falcons...

From what I could read everywhere on several forums the best movement against birds is to climb quickly if you can because birds have more difficulty in climbing quickly which leaves you time to spend in sport mode and flee, it is to be seen in practice now?

I got the same advice, but for me it is against my nature to climb, I have a tendency to dive away…

I do think it is good advice though…

I have heard that they normally don't bother with drones unless you are encroaching on their breeding territory  or if they are actively feeding.

Unfortunately you may not know you are in that type of area until the drone gets up in the air but as long as you pay attention to your surroundings you should be okay.

I've read adding bright colored and reflective stickers can ward them off. Worth a try if you're having a lot of issues.

Stickers are cute, but have not been proven.
What I can say works for me, is be aggressive.  You are not going to hurt the bird.  It's a dominance thing.
I had some birds interested in my drone, I raised up a bit, they followed .... so I turned into them, ,and they scattered and left.
If a hawk or eagle has their eye on you and you are a perceived threat, nothing you can do really  

I use silver reflective tape on the top side of all drones but that is really for finding it easier if it goes down into the thick. I haven't had any problems with birds yet....so maybe it works?

As said already, best move is UP as fast as you can go, knock it in to sports if ya not already there, but start going up 1st.
Another tip is to leave a lower ceiling height, so do go above 350ft, that way you have some legal breathing room to actually climb higher, fast.

If it seems like an attack, just don't be tempted to drop, its instinct, but don't, birds can dive quicker than you,  here in the UK we have the fastest bird in the world, the Peregrine Flacon, in a stop (dive), it can reach 200mph also, do not try to outrun,  during a chase, ducks can reach 60mph, UP is the only one they struggle with, that takes a lot of their steam

Hello there DrexHelds. Good day and thank you for reaching out. Just a reminder that birds like Hawks and Falcons 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.

Some people are skinning the drone to make them look more agressive.

From first hand experience with hawks I can say that the best course of action is to ascend as quickly as possible.  If you're not in sport mode try to switch as you ascend.  When I first started flying drones my instinct was to descend and land quickly.  Absolutely, wrong action to take.  Hawks, and many other birds, can diver much faster than they ascend.  

I try to avoid birds as much as possible as you never know which ones are just curious or looking for a kill.  I have a skin on all my drones but doesn't seem to phase the birds whatsoever.  

The fact is birds that can’t fly are not anomalies. There are over 57 avian species that have no ability to fly, but rather stay grounded for their whole lifespan.

The flightless birds may never know the joy of flying, but they have gained advantages on the ground.