I often fly in wooded areas and over ponds and lakes, prime areas for a lot of New Hampshire wildlife. Some of that wildlife, particularly the flying kind, do not like any other birds in their territory. I sometimes wonder when I read about Phantoms suddenly disappearing (is that why they are called Phantoms?) if maybe a bird took them out.
My first 'encounter' was with a Bald Eagle. I knew there was a Bald Eagle nest about a mile from where I was flying and hadn't even considered that I might see it. Well, I was over some water at about 200' and over 5000 feet from the nest and I make eyeball contact with an Eagle heading towards my P3P. I stopped immediately and hovered. The Eagle swooped up to about 300 feet and started to fly overhead in huge circles. I wanted to get away, but not get divebombed. I dropped down to about 5' over the water and made a beeline for the shore. Then I followed the shore the distance back to where I was. The Eagle, seeing no further threat, flew back towards where it came from. That was my only Bald Eagle encounter. Very majestic birds.
On three occasions I have seen Red Shoulder Hawks come up from the trees and start to circle or follow. Again, I get the heck out of there, and the hawks retreat. Last weekend, there were two different hawks about 2000' apart and I had to stay half way between them. Must have been the 'seam' like in football. Apparently a 'drone' is something not imprinted on a birdbrain and they have to first study it a bit, maybe sort out whether they can take it out or not, before attacking. We can use that time to scram.
Earlier this year while flying near my house I suddenly noticed lots of bees around and I wasn't near any flowers or honey pots. I was doing some close-in training that day and so the Phantom was never more than a hundred feet away. I went left, the bees went left. I went right, the bees went right. Uh oh. I set the Phantom down in my driveway, shut it off, and called it a day. The bees left.
Any one else have any wildlife stories? How about your dog or cat going after your Phantom?
My first 'encounter' was with a Bald Eagle. I knew there was a Bald Eagle nest about a mile from where I was flying and hadn't even considered that I might see it. Well, I was over some water at about 200' and over 5000 feet from the nest and I make eyeball contact with an Eagle heading towards my P3P. I stopped immediately and hovered. The Eagle swooped up to about 300 feet and started to fly overhead in huge circles. I wanted to get away, but not get divebombed. I dropped down to about 5' over the water and made a beeline for the shore. Then I followed the shore the distance back to where I was. The Eagle, seeing no further threat, flew back towards where it came from. That was my only Bald Eagle encounter. Very majestic birds.
On three occasions I have seen Red Shoulder Hawks come up from the trees and start to circle or follow. Again, I get the heck out of there, and the hawks retreat. Last weekend, there were two different hawks about 2000' apart and I had to stay half way between them. Must have been the 'seam' like in football. Apparently a 'drone' is something not imprinted on a birdbrain and they have to first study it a bit, maybe sort out whether they can take it out or not, before attacking. We can use that time to scram.
Earlier this year while flying near my house I suddenly noticed lots of bees around and I wasn't near any flowers or honey pots. I was doing some close-in training that day and so the Phantom was never more than a hundred feet away. I went left, the bees went left. I went right, the bees went right. Uh oh. I set the Phantom down in my driveway, shut it off, and called it a day. The bees left.
Any one else have any wildlife stories? How about your dog or cat going after your Phantom?
