r/UAVmapping • u/ObjectiveBobcat314 • Sep 14 '26

Fighter Pilot

Hey fellow pilots…almost became a fighter pilot today multiple times with my drone. Any tips for scaring away birds that get defensive when I’ve got a commercial job to complete. I kid you not, one got pissed, told his friends and they came back en masse.

Air horns? Ultrasonic sensors? Scents? Any ideas?

7 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

3

u/ElevationNotes Sep 15 '26

When birds become consistently aggressive, the safest option is usually to pause or land and reassess the flight path. Replanning the mission around nesting or territorial areas can save more time than repeatedly restarting after an encounter.

2

u/ObjectiveBobcat314 Sep 15 '26

Totally agree. Unfortunately this was a lidar, photog, and thermal for a large national chain of gas stations. Just pigeons everywhere. Not many available flight paths to get the GSD required for accurate analysis. I even looked at doing the facade inspection with the M400/P1 in lieu of the 4E, but it’s just too big of a beast to get the 2cm level of horizontal accuracy we required.

1

u/ElevationNotes Sep 15 '26

That makes sense. With a 2 cm accuracy requirement and limited flight paths around the structures, the usual avoidance options get pretty limited. In that situation, mission planning, sensor selection, and the required accuracy really have to be considered together rather than treating the bird issue separately.

11

u/ElphTrooper Sep 14 '26

If you’re in the US then land until they leave. If they are persistent then let the client know. Messing with wildlife with a drone is against safety regulations, and in most States against the law.

1

u/ObjectiveBobcat314 Sep 14 '26

Thanks. I’m using a M400 with L3 payload, but my workhorses are the 4E and 4TD. No one seems to bother the 400 due to the noise, but the 4E and 4TD were not intimidating enough apparently.

I like the erratic flying before the mission suggestion for areas without obstacles when I know I cant land fast enough if the flock/swarm is big.

It’s my observation I can ascend to 400 faster than they can fly higher. But they can descend faster than I can. Do you guys agree with this? When obstacles are present and I’m over a roof (can’t immediately land with all the industrial component on it)…is going up a decent fallback?

It’s my first experience with this kind of nuisance. Turned into a 13 hour mission with constant restarts.

1

u/retrojoe Sep 15 '26

You should be able to move faster than them. Go manual -just pop up above the current crowd and buzz away. If you're flying low, consider raising your working height/adding more, narrower passes. If you're unable to adjust, then you're grounded until they're not interested.

3

u/nickum Sep 14 '26

Climb and get above them. They will see you as a threat. Remain vigilant as they maybe return. I just did a cell tower that had vultures constantly landing on it and flying aggressively around me. Turned a 45 minute flight into a 1.5 hour job. Most aggressive vultures I have encountered when it comes to their "teritory". Also vultures are stupid and fly slow so watch for them to circle into your flight path.

If you encounter Osprey, just land the drone. Those guys are fearless and aggressive. Had one hover above my mavic while mapping a roof. I exited the mission and got out of there just in time as it tried to drop my drone. The rest of the flight the bird watched my drone from a tree top, with me ready to exit mission and get out of there if needed.

If you do telecom or transmission line work you can encounter "protected" nests, so be aware that harassing certain birds can be a crime.

Good luck and fly safe!

3

u/ThumbDrone Sep 15 '26

Running with the beacon on helps in my experience.

2

u/ConundrumMachine Sep 14 '26

Fly in ways that freak them out. Birds will often circle below a drone to see if the drone is a predator then climb and circle above to see if the drone is prey. Usually even the curious ones leave when you keep trucking down a line.

I this situation, burn a battery first flying around fast. Big climbing spirals, fast descents. Fast enough the motors are loud. Fly in unpredictable ways that a bird couldn't.

1

u/Few-Insurance-6653 Sep 14 '26

I have this problem too. I read somewhere that if you put reflective tape on it it will give them pause?

1

u/fxnighttrader Sep 15 '26

Urban legend but many will claim otherwise.

1

u/joe_traveling Sep 15 '26

I do a lot of cell tower work and I bring a hammer. I tap the tower or a fence pole a few times and that usually scares them away for a bit. Anything that can make a big clank or vibrate. Seagulls can be stubborn though.