Has anyone used reflective tape to deter bird strikes and is it a good solution ?

I'd hate to make my Mavic look like a Christmas decoration and it not work.

Haven't heard of anything like that, have been some cases of birds approaching drones but haven't heard of any drone being brought down, although maybe they have but it's highly unlikely, I think it's worth the risk lol.

Generally speaking the flashing LED's and loud whirring noise from the props will scare off most birds.  However many birds are highly territorial and will sometimes attack if you encroach on their space.  This is the cause of most drone encounters with birds.  It's best to respect the birds territory when possible.   (They have a right to defend themslves when they perceive a threat.)

While flying in the Scottish highlands recently I had a family of brave Crows not happy with my presence, they weren't brave enough to attack the Inspire but definitely were getting closure the longer I carried out a survey. I found myself chasing them away from the surround high trees to make sure they knew I was a threat! This may help, although an inspire is a larger bird than the Mavic or Phantom.

UAVMan Posted at 2016-10-10 03:12
While flying in the Scottish highlands recently I had a family of brave Crows not happy with my pres ...

That's the thing. I have an I1 and birds seem to keep away but with smaller drones like the Phantom (which have several reported bird strikes) and now the tiny little Mavic I have a feeling birds might fancy there chances

HFI Posted at 2016-10-9 20:30
That's the thing. I have an I1 and birds seem to keep away but with smaller drones like the Phanto ...

There's a business opportunity in this somewhere..... The skins/wraps they do for ipads and the like, the same people must be able to do a 'hawk' or 'eagle' one...

There's numerous Youtube vids of raptors taking down drones.

I've had a few occasions in Australia during our spring when crows have come after my P4. I've taken immediate evasive action by switching to sports mode and going vertical then away from the area. There is no way that any bird would be able to match the vertical speed of a P4 (or Mavic) in sports mode and keep up with it whilst leaving the area.
Of course that is all dependant on you spotting the attacking bird before it gets to your drone.

UAVMan Posted at 2016-10-10 03:34
There's a business opportunity in this somewhere..... The skins/wraps they do for ipads and the li ...

I was thinking this very same thing but applying a wrap or vinyl decal may hinder GPS signals???  Adding some bright color could help in keeping an eye on your drone.

I'm now thinking it doesn't work after watching to this guys (with a great voice over voice) video

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-9 11:06
Generally speaking the flashing LED's and loud whirring noise from the props will scare off most birds.  However many birds are highly territorial and will sometimes attack if you encroach on their space.  This is the cause of most drone encounters with birds.  It's best to respect the birds territory when possible.   (They have a right to defend themslves when they perceive a threat.)

Ummm, sure, birds, along with all wildlife, do have the right to defend their territory, but they don't have a right to randomly take out my drone when it's not a threat to them. We don't know where they are, but the question is, HOW CAN WE DETER BIRDS FROM ATTACKING OUR DRONES?  Mine was taken out by a hawk out of nowhere just two weeks ago. I had no idea I was in its territory within 2 minutes of the flight. My drone cost several thousand dollars.

Frankly, I could care less about the birds and more about my drone. I'm not doing anything wrong.

Let's stick to solutions that work instead of saying, "respect their environment." Technically the FAA owns the sky, not the birds. When I'm flying legally, I'd really like it if some random bird suddenly did NOT decide to destroy my drone.

Ryan70 Posted at 10-28 14:58
Ummm, sure, birds, along with all wildlife, do have the right to defend their territory, but they don't have a right to randomly take out my drone when it's not a threat to them. We don't know where they are, but the question is, HOW CAN WE DETER BIRDS FROM ATTACKING OUR DRONES?  Mine was taken out by a hawk out of nowhere just two weeks ago. I had no idea I was in its territory within 2 minutes of the flight. My drone cost several thousand dollars.

Frankly, I could care less about the birds and more about my drone. I'm not doing anything wrong.

Technically, the birds own the sky.

Mobilehomer Posted at 10-28 15:06
Technically, the birds own the sky.

The birds have the right of way.  : )   

I have had my drone dived on a few times during mapping missions as the drone does its corn rows.  Never been hit but they sure make it look close.

The birds do the best by far to avoid most collisions. Otherwise they could never survive mass flights of 1000 birds in fast changing formations. I do not pay much attention to them because they can adjust much faster than I can. I think they assume our drones are just very silly and retarded birds who are unfamiliar with the avian rules of the skies, like the big pelican probably thinks in this video. Click on "watch on youtube" since this lame site does not support youtube fully.