Two seagulls mobbed my P3 today, which made me nervous about the possibility of a collision bringing the drone down. I know others have had encounters with birds, but are there any reports of collisions, particularly any that brought down the drone?
Close Encounters of the Bird Kind
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I've definitely seen reports of hawks bringing down these quads. No doubt there will be other birds that have too.
I find seagulls to be mostly bluster - they swoop close by but don't seem to actually want to make contact. More annoying than anything.
I find seagulls to be mostly bluster - they swoop close by but don't seem to actually want to make contact. More annoying than anything.
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OK. I confess. I wanted to know the answer to my question, but probably would not have bothered to post it, were it not for the title.
We have a lot of Seagulls where I am in Pacific Beach in San Diego. I was very scared for awhile because I would get a mob of them chasing me. But I experimented for a few days and idled about 20 feet in air. They will just swoop down and get 5-10 feet away but never actually attack it. There would be a group of 20 or so above me but they eventually give up and go away.
Seagulls in Britain tend to be massive and very aggressive. I think due to all the recycling the rubbish tips aren't such rich pickings anymore so the seagulls are lashing out. Plenty of reports of people being attacked. I have seen them chasing quite large birds of prey as well.
Will be doing some coastal flying this weekend so we shall see. I think they also tend to be more aggressive during nesting time.
Will be doing some coastal flying this weekend so we shall see. I think they also tend to be more aggressive during nesting time.
Well I am not surprised they are a lot bigger than you................................
I saw a video some time back where a bird attacked a Phantom flying near a statue. It was definitely on it's way to a very bad impact with the ground but luckily it had enough altitude to recover and then make a safe landing. I would think that could be a big factor unless the impact actually damaged a prop or electronics etc. I've seen mocking birds attack cats, dogs and even people when they get close to their nesting area. They can be pretty fearless & persistent.
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I've had quite a few birds that have buzzed me - I usually fly away asap when this happens. Typically it's a territorial thing, or a nearby nest that they are protecting. One hit is probably all it will take to kill the bird and trash the phantom. Unfortunately there's not much you can do to predict the bird strikes...
I had a hawk shut down my P3. He didn't attack it, but got startled when I flew over the tree he was in. He hit the right landing strut with enough force to shift the P3 to a 45 degree angle, which sent it down and sideways into the top tree branches. I'd flown over the same tree a number of times before with no problems, but this time I guess he was up there scanning the fields for breakfast.
Now I'm just waiting for my new body shell to come. Think painting it like an eagle will scare off any other birds?
Now I'm just waiting for my new body shell to come. Think painting it like an eagle will scare off any other birds?
Now that's an idea for a new shell design.I had a hawk shut down my P3. He didn't attack it, but got startled when I flew over the tree he was in. He hit the right landing strut with enough force to shift the P3 to a 45 degree angle, which sent it down and sideways into the top tree branches. I'd flown over the same tree a number of times before with no problems, but this time I guess he was up there scanning the fields for breakfast.
Now I'm just waiting for my new body shell to come. Think painting it like an eagle will scare off any other birds?
I got buzzed the other day. I landed immediately. Somewhere on this board is a vid from some guy who continued flying until a bird brought him down. What to do when birds attack: land.
Here's a disguise that will scare 'em. LolI had a hawk shut down my P3. He didn't attack it, but got startled when I flew over the tree he was in. He hit the right landing strut with enough force to shift the P3 to a 45 degree angle, which sent it down and sideways into the top tree branches. I'd flown over the same tree a number of times before with no problems, but this time I guess he was up there scanning the fields for breakfast.
Now I'm just waiting for my new body shell to come. Think painting it like an eagle will scare off any other birds?
Seriously, I love birds. They're delicious!
+1 for swifts or swallows, the little pointy acrobat birds, forced me to land. I was scared id chop one of them up.
We have Mississippi Kite Hawks here, they are vicious (And protected *sigh*) if you fly anywhere close to their nests.
Ahh-- we are dealing with the Kestral Hawks here-- they come out in swarms like a but of dive bombers and I head for the ground right away
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3 weeks ago in Idaho I was the unfortunate victim of a hawk attack. There happened to be a nesting pair that became very aggressive and chased me down and away several times, actually swiping at me once. However I was in no way antagonizing them, flying away at every opportunity. But I was stupid and kept flying in the area because that was where I was staying on vacation. After 2 days 1 of the birds had enough and took me out at about 80 ft. Death spiral. I sickeningly watched my brand new 2 week old P3 crash to the ground. Cracked the landing gear, body, battery was ejected, props thrashed I'm sure you can imagine the carnage. After cleaning it up the P3 would only light up but the motors would not spin up. My P3 is back at DJI and I'm waiting to hear what the $ damage will be. I've learned my lesson: these drones are no match for the REAL drones of the sky.
Northern Colorado here. Turkey Vultures gliding around above thermals looking for food. They LOVE to glide down and and check out my P3P. I try to move away but then they follow. I don't want to get in a dogfight with one since they are quite large and I know I'd be on the loosing end. I just make a hasty retreat and find that loosing some altitude usually does the trick. They are mostly just curious and wondering what's in their airspace. I can respect that.
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