Just minding it's own business yesterday evening, when this flock of birds started circling.
I pulled the little Mini3Pro outta there real quick

Guess it was heading south to avoid the weather.

sky wombat Posted at 7-3 00:54
Guess it was heading south to avoid the weather.

No harm done, but I know when I'm being warned off

was a great shot by the way Blériot.

sky wombat Posted at 7-3 01:41
was a great shot by the way Blériot.

Just a screen grab from the video, with a bit of tweaking

Great screen grab Mr. B.    Most probably wise to get out of there when you have that many birds circling.  Birds do have a tendency to let you know when you invade their airspace, especially the local hawks.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 05:00
Great screen grab Mr. B.    Most probably wise to get out of there when you have that many birds circling.  Birds do have a tendency to let you know when you invade their airspace, especially the local hawks.

I thought at first that these were swallows, picking off midges on the wing at dusk - as they do.
But these birds are the wrong colour and shape. I think they may have been young pigeons, from the head a tail shape.

Nice screenshot! Always spooky when birds start flying near the drone. I didn’t mind it so much with my Mavic Air 2, but with the Mavic 3 I get super nervous.

Digital Skies Posted at 7-3 05:59
Nice screenshot! Always spooky when birds start flying near the drone. I didn’t mind it so much with my Mavic Air 2, but with the Mavic 3 I get super nervous.

I sae them at a distance at first. Then came the first swoop around the drone. And a second one even nearer. This was the third pass so I decided ehough was enough

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 05:11
I thought at first that these were swallows, picking off midges on the wing at dusk - as they do.
But these birds are the wrong colour and shape. I think they may have been young pigeons, from the head a tail shape.

I'll have to take your word for what kind of birds they were as I'm not a bird afficionado.

I know enough about birds to recognize eagles, hawks, gulls and owls.  After that I'd only be guessing.

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 06:28
I'll have to take your word for what kind of birds they were as I'm not a bird afficionado.

I know enough about birds to recognize eagles, hawks, gulls and owls.  After that I'd only be guessing.

I can't tell for sure, it was just a guess.  When you zoom in the image is quite fuzzy.

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 06:34
I can't tell for sure, it was just a guess.  When you zoom in the image is quite fuzzy.

No problem.  Whatever they were it is always best to give the airspace back to them.  

I did have a hawk dive at my Air 2S once time and I found out real quick that hawks can dive much faster than they can climb.  So I always ascend quickly now when birds get near any of my drones.   

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 06:43
No problem.  Whatever they were it is always best to give the airspace back to them.  

I did have a hawk dive at my Air 2S once time and I found out real quick that hawks can dive much faster than they can climb.  So I always ascend quickly now when birds get near any of my drones.

A handy tip. My instinct is always to flee horizontally. CLimbing is counter-intuitive but could work if a hawk isn't already diving from above, like the peregrin falcon or a sparrowhawk.

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 06:51
A handy tip. My instinct is always to flee horizontally. CLimbing is counter-intuitive but could work if a hawk isn't already diving from above, like the peregrin falcon or a sparrowhawk.

Very true.  Always dependent on the situation at hand.  If I see a hawk start to circle ascending has always been effective.  If the hawk is in a dive already probably a quick horizontal departure would work.  Hopefully, I'm not presented with this situation very often.  I have found that gulls by the sea are very inquisitive and will fly really close to the drone.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 07:11
Very true.  Always dependent on the situation at hand.  If I see a hawk start to circle ascending has always been effective.  If the hawk is in a dive already probably a quick horizontal departure would work.  Hopefully, I'm not presented with this situation very often.  I have found that gulls by the sea are very inquisitive and will fly really close to the drone.

Hawks seem less common here than they were in France (particularly buzzards). But gulls, both at the seaside and around refuse sites inland, are particularly aggressive.

I’ve had that happen to me plenty of times and I’ve always just gotten out of there not worth losing my drone or cause if harm to one brave bird.

Fred Fred Fred Posted at 7-3 07:52
I’ve had that happen to me plenty of times and I’ve always just gotten out of there not worth losing my drone or cause if harm to one brave bird.

That's true. This was my Mini3's first bird encounter

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 07:26
Hawks seem less common here than they were in France (particularly buzzards). But gulls, both at the seaside and around refuse sites inland, are particularly aggressive.

The gulls are terrible.  I can tell you from experience of living on a boat that the gulls are always taking target practice at anything below them.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to pressure wash my dock and pier.  Just too  much gull poop.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 08:44
The gulls are terrible.  I can tell you from experience of living on a boat that the gulls are always taking target practice at anything below them.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to pressure wash my dock and pier.  Just too  much gull poop.

Are they edible?  
A few pot-shots might discourage them?

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 08:52
Are they edible?  
A few pot-shots might discourage them?

Gulls have rather unhealthy eating habits so I doubt they would be good to eat.  They've been known to eat dung, dead fish, food scraps and even garbage.  Local commercial fishermen call them “flying rats” because of how quickly they spread garbage around a beach, piers, docks or other area where people congregate.

Besides they can't have much meat on them to start with.  I'll pass on gull for dinner.   

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-3 10:16
Gulls have rather unhealthy eating habits so I doubt they would be good to eat.  They've been known to eat dung, dead fish, food scraps and even garbage.  Local commercial fishermen call them “flying rats” because of how quickly they spread garbage around a beach, piers, docks or other area where people congregate.

Besides they can't have much meat on them to start with.  I'll pass on gull for dinner.

Just a thought

Hello there Blériot53. Good day and thank you for posting this cool video that you have filmed using your new DJI Mini 3 Pro. Great work and keep flying. .

DJI Stephen Posted at 7-3 23:00
Hello there Blériot53. Good day and thank you for posting this cool video that you have filmed using your new DJI Mini 3 Pro. Great work and keep flying.  .

Thanks DJI Stephen

Nice,   I had a kestrel circling me on Friday,   but by the time I could switch to video mode I lost it.

DAFlys Posted at 7-4 00:04
Nice,   I had a kestrel circling me on Friday,   but by the time I could switch to video mode I lost it.

This was   a lucky screen grab as they whizzed past.

Blériot53 Posted at 7-4 00:07
This was   a lucky screen grab as they whizzed past.

you were certainly quicker than me.   
Got chased by a Gull on Saturday,  first time in ages.

DAFlys Posted at 7-4 00:14
you were certainly quicker than me.   
Got chased by a Gull on Saturday,  first time in ages.

Would that be a SEA gull ?

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 10:46
Just a thought

True, was just a thought.  Maybe if I was marooned on a remote island and had to have some protein then maybe, just maybe I'd have to give it a try.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-4 03:51
True, was just a thought.  Maybe if I was marooned on a remote island and had to have some protein then maybe, just maybe I'd have to give it a try.

Reminds me of a line from the film "Crocodile Dundee II"
Goanna - you can live on it, but it tastes like s**t  

O yes, kind of scary.

Depp Posted at 7-4 04:57
O yes, kind of scary.

Especially as the drone is almost brand-new

Blériot53 Posted at 7-4 04:44
Reminds me of a line from the film "Crocodile Dundee II"
Goanna - you can live on it, but it tastes like s**t

That was a great punch line.  I do remember it and haven't seen that movie in quite some time.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-4 06:31
That was a great punch line.  I do remember it and haven't seen that movie in quite some time.

Real quality films. Very much of their era.

Blériot53 Posted at 7-4 06:47
Real quality films. Very much of their era.

I always say they don't make movies and they don't make music like they used to.  Guess it shows my age.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-4 06:49
I always say they don't make movies and they don't make music like they used to.  Guess it shows my age.

Well that's two things we have in common, old timer

Blériot53 Posted at 7-4 06:54
Well that's two things we have in common, old timer

We do have a few things in common, no doubt about that.  

DowntownRDB Posted at 7-4 07:07
We do have a few things in common, no doubt about that.

Blériot53 Posted at 7-3 23:28
Thanks DJI Stephen

Hi there Blériot53. Thank you for the reply and you are very much welcome. Have a safe and a happy flying always. .

DJI Stephen Posted at 7-4 22:06
Hi there Blériot53. Thank you for the reply and you are very much welcome. Have a safe and a happy flying always.  .

Blériot53 Posted at 7-4 00:21
Would that be a SEA gull ?

I doubt it.