My Mavic Air recently got attacked by a pair of large redtail hawks and I managed to escape to safety (which I caught mostly on video, cool), which lead me to think much more about flying near hawks. I saw on youtube lots of videos of hawks and especially eagles taking out drones, and was wondering if anyone here has run into issues with hawks (or other birds) attacking your drone? Any advice for a relative newbie here on this topic?

Bottom line - steer clear of them if you can - especially sea gulls near coast lines. I am (touch wood) yet to experience a bird strike on my drones but they seemed to come in a lot closer on the smaller drones like my Spark when I had it and stay well away from the MP and P4P - though I have seen videos of Inspire's being taken down by eagles...  
The best thing to do is not fly near nesting grounds, rise above them fast and fly away from their direction in sport mode. Small birds will fly away from the drone anyway but eagles and larger birds are territorial and may perceive your drone as a threat.

no idea, but i was scared from pigeons. There were so many of them in the park, after hesitating for an hour, i never flew! I don't know the real danger of pigeons tho..they could be harmless to drones but since it was my first time taking the mavic pro out, i played it safe.

As soon as I see Hawks or Eagles coming close I turn my drone around for the drone and the bird's sake.

Ok i'll bite let see the video  :-)

FredAstra Posted at 2018-4-10 12:33
Ok i'll bite let see the video  :-)

You can't quite see the final attack at the end that freaked me out but they were just a few feet away just out of camera. Taught me to respect these birds more in the future.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-4-10 12:41
You can't quite see the final attack at the end that freaked me out but they were just a few feet away just out of camera. Taught me to respect these birds more in the future.
https://youtu.be/JbwRE2I0aKo

Cool video - you did well just to get the drone on the ground asap from that altitude - they were definitely circling the drone...

I have 3 types of Hawks that fly in my back yard. Red-Tail, Harris , and the Cooper.  None ever seemed to care about my MP.
The only bird I worry about are the Black Ravens we have. They will attack, or mob, in large numbers, a would-be predator like my MP to protect their flock  or fledglings. When they are out, I don't fly.

A CW Posted at 2018-4-10 10:58
Bottom line - steer clear of them if you can - especially sea gulls near coast lines. I am (touch wood) yet to experience a bird strike on my drones but they seemed to come in a lot closer on the smaller drones like my Spark when I had it and stay well away from the MP and P4P - though I have seen videos of Inspire's being taken down by eagles...  
The best thing to do is not fly near nesting grounds, rise above them fast and fly away from their direction in sport mode. Small birds will fly away from the drone anyway but eagles and larger birds are territorial and may perceive your drone as a threat.

Got attacked at the end of this video by a seagull, just like you said.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-4-10 16:44
Got attacked at the end of this video by a seagull, just like you said.
https://youtu.be/LX_Dmz3etrg

My paychecks came from Stanford, but my checkbook graduated from Cal  (darling daughter).  Go Bears!

We suggest avoiding flying near the birds or animals, stay away as much as you can.  

What are your thoughts about flying near hawks?

If they down my Mavic Pro P, my next drone will be bigger, a lot bigger.  

Hawks don't care about the drone.  They ignore it.  "Get out of the shot,... ya, rats with wings!"  My fault for throwing live mice into the field for them from my barn traps.

Ravens and crows are the only kind of birds that showed interest in my mp, but they never attacked,and I am grateful for that.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-4-10 16:44
Got attacked at the end of this video by a seagull, just like you said.
https://youtu.be/LX_Dmz3etrg

Yep - sea gulls are the worst - aggressive birds!

For me, it would be hard to find a time to fly when no hawks or vultures were sharing the sky. I have a greater appreciation for how high some of them can fly... often well above 400 ft AGL. Luckily, I've never had one take any interest in my MMP. I do not intentionally fly near them though because "sharing" is the key word. I've seen  red-tails and red-shoulder hawks swoop down and grab snakes and squirrels... even seen one attack a coyote once and knock it off it's feet. So the threat of losing a drone to one is definitely real.

If you've ever had a large Great Horned Owl do a low fly-over a couple feet above your head, it makes you worry about being part of nature's food chain.

The Farmer Posted at 2018-4-11 08:03
For me, it would be hard to find a time to fly when no hawks or vultures were sharing the sky. I have a greater appreciation for how high some of them can fly... often well above 400 ft AGL. Luckily, I've never had one take any interest in my MMP. I do not intentionally fly near them though because "sharing" is the key word. I've seen  red-tails and red-shoulder hawks swoop down and grab snakes and squirrels... even seen one attack a coyote once and knock it off it's feet. So the threat of losing a drone to one is definitely real.

If you've ever had a large Great Horned Owl do a low fly-over a couple feet above your head, it makes you worry about being part of nature's food chain.

I believe those owls employ stealth-like technology to make their flight much more quiet than other birds. Was that your experience?

I almost got taken out by a Hawk in my area, came straight for the drone claws out and it backed of in the last minute. Guess it figured my Drone was not a meal

A CW Posted at 2018-4-10 23:42
Yep - sea gulls are the worst - aggressive birds!

I had trouble with Seagulls also but it was with my Inspire 1. Put an obnoxious florescent orange skin on it and they left it alone. Guess the white looked to much like another Gull

Well I would suggest being more aware of the bird life in your area - remember for prey birds you are invading their space NOT the other way round! Prey birds are most definitely not 'Rats with wings' in fact they will be predating mostly on ground based rodents - mice, voles, prairie dogs and even rats on occasion - so helping farmers preserve their crops too.

We have Harris hawks in our neighborhood.  They frequently (about every other year) nest in the neighbor's pine tree.  I have some video of one on the nest from this year.  I'm trying to get airborne earlier in the day so the light is on the east side, since the nest is on the east side of the trunk.  
None have pestered the Air, yet, though.

Danger Lampost Posted at 2018-4-12 09:22
I believe those owls employ stealth-like technology to make their flight much more quiet than other birds. Was that your experience?

Yes, Great Horns fly nearly silent and are especially agile when flying through a wooded area considering their wingspan. Usually see them around dusk in this area, so unlikely I’ll be in their airspace with my drone.