And for my second question.. and  I guess this has probably been asked before. Have you guys had instances of birds pestering or 'attacking' drones whilst in the drone
is hoverring for a while in one position? I was at the sea last weekend flying close to the shore line and there were a couple of seaguls showing more than an interest in the drone
swooping very close to it. A large seagul is  twice the size or more of a Mavic pro and a collision whilst airborne would not have been a happy ending...  
Any precautions apart in addition to common sense ??

Cheers

i would typically suggest avoiding larger birds this mostly because of bird strikes, bird accidentally getting in the way or you flying in its path etc etc..  not so much attacking, i dont think most birds have the balls to commit to an attack on the drone, just trying to not appear scared to this alien thing buzzing at them..  most part even my dji spark all birds i encountered even a hawk was scared of it..  only bird im afriad of getting close to with either drone is a eagle.

that being said i dont know how seagulls normally behave and if they would genuinely commit to attacking or just swooping..

Seagulls seem to the biggest trouble makers.  Also stay away from any nesting birds. They will defend the area around their nests.

I have flown around birds here in Colorado with no issues. A friend and I were flying our Mavics in the foot hills near my office when a large hawk circled overhead and landed twenty feet from our Mavics. We got some great shots of the hawk. It seem interested in the Mavics but wasn't threatened by them nor was it agressive.

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-8-24 12:59
Seagulls seem to the biggest trouble makers.  Also stay away from any nesting birds. They will defend the area around their nests.

I have flown around birds here in Colorado with no issues. A friend and I were flying our Mavics in the foot hills near my office when a large hawk circled overhead and landed twenty feet from our Mavics. We got some great shots of the hawk. It seem interested in the Mavics but wasn't threatened by them nor was it agressive.

ya we have hawks at our farm here and eagles.. but the hawks didnt want anything to do with either drone i buzed near them (not at them).  

as for nesting birds, smaller birds are prob non issue like swallows.. even if they attacked it unless they stopped the props otherwise striking it probably not problem, i seen a video where someone shot a beanbag out of a 12G shotgun at their mavic and it barely flinched rocked sideways a bit then rotated back..

Usually if your bird is being studied / bothered by birds, just shoot straight up as fast as you can.  It's been speculated that birds don't know how to handle something that moves straight vertically - but that is speculation based on reports on different forums.

Good, Safe Flying.

Nikon 1 Posted at 2017-8-24 13:56
Usually if your bird is being studied / bothered by birds, just shoot straight up as fast as you can.  It's been speculated that birds don't know how to handle something that moves straight vertically - but that is speculation based on reports on different forums.

Good, Safe Flying.

true i seen that as well big blind spot or just way to confused.., and makes sense.   also mavic pro will easily deal with side and bottom impacts without much fuss, so if the bird hits the bottom or side it shouldn't be much of an issue.

My Mavic was just hovering when I noticed this fairly large bird flying straight at it....I quickly hit record to capture what was about to happen.

I';ve not had birds attack my drone, but I live out in the country and every time I fly, I'm accompanied by a squadron of Martins. I'm not sure if they think I'm one of them or they're just curious, but they will circle me continuously if I hover. I also have a large number of American Bald Eagles and hawks around, but they don't seem to mind/care.

Someone posted a Mavic vs. 2 Eagles - and it didn't end well for the Mavic.

We have a lot of Falconers around here and that's always on my mind when I fly in any of the open areas.  I will just lift as fast as I can if I get "targeted" by a bird of prey.  I just hope I have the insight to hit record if I'm not already recording.

I also had a large number of starlings fly at me a week ago and they were at the same altitude flying and as they reached the drown they parted at the last moment and flew around it missing by cms.   I will take on board the comments about rapid climbing.

Cheers

Robhulford Posted at 2017-8-24 22:53
I also had a large number of starlings fly at me a week ago and they were at the same altitude flying and as they reached the drown they parted at the last moment and flew around it missing by cms.   I will take on board the comments about rapid climbing.

Cheers

I had a problem with a Hawk a few weeks ago i was flying at the cliffs on West Bay in Dorset, there had been a Rock slide the night before which i was filming. There were some nesting Seagulls on the cliff faces and they did not appear to be to bothered by my Mavic, but a Hawk ( possibly Peregrine ) did take exception to it and attacked it but i saw it coming and backed up which seamed to throw it off but it came around again so i landed the Mavic pretty quick. I will load up a Video at the weekend. Tony   

Linking to my correct account.

Hugh Jaynus Posted at 2017-8-24 14:23
My Mavic was just hovering when I noticed this fairly large bird flying straight at it....I quickly hit record to capture what was about to happen.

https://youtu.be/Nigwj_-uEz0

now that was a close one...

ImHereToCrash Posted at 2017-8-24 12:37
i would typically suggest avoiding larger birds this mostly because of bird strikes, bird accidentally getting in the way or you flying in its path etc etc..  not so much attacking, i dont think most birds have the balls to commit to an attack on the drone, just trying to not appear scared to this alien thing buzzing at them..  most part even my dji spark all birds i encountered even a hawk was scared of it..  only bird im afriad of getting close to with either drone is a eagle.

that being said i dont know how seagulls normally behave and if they would genuinely commit to attacking or just swooping..

" suggest avoiding larger birds this mostly because of bird strikes, bird accidentally getting in the way or you flying in its path etc etc..  not so much attacking, i dont think most birds have the balls to commit to an attack on the drone, just trying to not appear scared to this alien thing buzzing at them."


Precisely what I do to avoid our neighbors. I respect the space and not interfere with their territory.  

We allways have to be cautious with birds. Even if they don't attack, they would harm your drone.