Interesting. I've been attacked by seagulls and a kestrel before when flying my Inspire. Never had a problem with any of my fpv drones as they're too fast and manoeuvrable. But I did learn a tip to stop my DJI drones getting attacked by birds - and it works every time: fly higher than the attacking bird. Only needs to be for a short while and they will leave. A bird of prey specilaist/ornathologist told me it's nature's way of signalling who's highest in the food chain. Small birds flee when birds of prey above them. Even birds of prey flee when a drone is bearing down on them. Airspace cleared every time i've flown since I learned that.
I was thinking it must be something like that . I've been flying since 2016 and had a few hawks have a go but that's about it and found if I flew straight up and a bit aggressive they soon nicked off .
The material at 2:00 is called 3M Diamond Grade Reflective Series 4000. Available on AMZ in different width tapes and sheets. Very strong adhesive. Wont come off after sticking to drone. It is originally designed for signs and has 10 years warranty under all weather conditions!
My second flight ever last week with my mini 4 pro and had 2 wedge tails circle above it. Very interested in it so I put it in sports mode and zoomed straight home!
Well done on trying this. Another likely colour combo would be yellow and black in a striped setup. Many dangerous organisms such as wasps use this combo to ward off potential predators. I’ll try red on my drone first to see how the birds respond. Cheers.
Brilliant! I am a very new drone pilot and a couple weeks ago almost freaked out as soon as some birds at the beach attacked my drone. I will definitely try this! Thank you :)
Interesting tip, thanks Brett. I’ve been shooting real estate with drones for nearly 3 years now and I’ve found that in general it’s the larger drones such as the Mavic Pro series which will get attacked by large birds such as hawks and eagles. I mostly fly the mini drones such as the 2 and for the last few weeks the new 4 pro and for the most part the large birds like eagles, magpies, crows and cockatoos tend to ignore it (I have more issues being chased by groups of bees and butterflies lol) but smaller birds, especially aggressive birds like the Indian Miners, really go for it at this time of the year. I’ll have to test this method out and see how it goes.
I found the opposite. I almost never had any issues with the Phantom4 Pro but the Mini 3 Pro was a much more regular target. And I actually had birds touch it whereas on the Air 3 I'm on now they don't seem to actually touch it, just get near
@@Flamamacue interesting. Not sure why this happens but lately I've had no bird issues with the mini 4 pro even smaller birds and it's 'nesting seson' here. Eagles and so on have always ignored my mini drones but usually swooped on the Mavid series. No idea why.
So far, I’ve been spared the Malay of birds strikes. But I will definitely look out for them and keep the reflective tape in mind. Thank you for the tip.
I will be trying it in Canada and I'll let you know. I've been swooped too many times; last week over a lake again and almost lost the drone but it recovered after quite a tumble from altitude. Kestrels, crows, seagulls, and hawks are the issue for me. That last incident was recorded in video shorts "Bird Strike Recovery", it paints the M3P in a good light!
It works to stop actual strikes but they still approach. I just posted a short today called 'don't fly with geese', in it you can see many get close but no strikes. I should add, I used a Razor iridescent decal...sorta looks like the Isle of Mann flag and reflects many colors from all angles.@@JavierGonzalez-ot3uy
I have used reflective tape on my quads for years to be able to find them after crashes. I also put it on my gopro's for the same reason. Hawks and Owls in Florida don't care about it . They apparently choose violence.
I'll bet it's a relief to find that the tape apparently works. Kudos for sticking with it to find something that does. Good old detective work does it again!
Thanks for the tip. I have had no direct attack as yet, but one or two scares over the years. Both times during nesting seasons here in Ireland. I simply move away from the area, seeing i only fly as a hobby.
Nice tip - I had a few birds circling my drone in Gippsland last weekend. I just picked up some of the reflective red tape from Bunnings, but thinking about also adding a small red strobe to the drone to reflect off the tape. Seems like it might multiply the effect of the tape, but also make it a lot easier to spot the drone if a bird brings it down!
I've spent about 40hrs flying in NSW and a bit around QLD and luckily haven't been attacked. Though most of my time is spent moving rather than stationary for photos. This is good to know and I will be more cautious when I see birds
That's what I thought the tip would be Peter. Makes sense, as unless the bird was a raptor or somehow managed to turn the drone upside down, a modern drone would not be likely to fall out of the sky. A sea-eagle, wedgetail or similar large raptor or a fast moving crow, currawong, butcherbird, magpie, gull or plover might hit hard enough to break an arm off the drone - otherwise it's probably prop damage that brings them down.
Thanks, I ordered this type from Amazon. I waiting delivery untill 2 -3 days and will trying, because im in the Austrian Alphs and here we have a lot of large birds such as hawks and eagles.
9 years as a pro pilot in Colorado, I've had dozens of red tail hawk and eagle encounters. But the only emergency situation I've had was caused by a magpie. It cost him his life, and it cost me a Zenmuse X5. I tried the orange reflector tape years ago, it had zero effect in my experience. What I found works the best is a red strobe on the drone. Not one issue in the past 6 years. They don't even bother my Inspire 2. I just got the M350T, first thing I did was stick two red strobes on the top.
@@Clickumentary I used the Lumecube as well. The egg shaped ones that comes with both a red and green plastic cover. Depending on the drone I use 1 to 3 of them. Kinda dumb, but it really does work.
I watched both your videos on the subject and I have put this exact tape on, but in your other video you said to put a strobe light on top as well. Well I have flown a few times with no issues, didn’t see any birds, but today a hawk followed my Mini 4 Pro and circles it on two occasions but never came with around 10m of it. So I count this as massive success. The interesting part was on the second flight when the hawk came back to circle, other birds started to attack the hawk rather than going for my drone. So thank you for the tips, it seems to be working well. 🎉
In Oregon, the mighty Osprey, with a nearly 6 foot wingspan, definitely aren’t happy with drones in their airspace. They are powerful birds and can easily take down a Mavic 3 size or even larger drone. Hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’ve had them circling overhead a few times and quickly landed, will definitely try the red reflective tape. Thanks for the tip. 🙏🏼
I am also interesested if birds of prey are lets say affected by it. Im interested to put it in an fpv wing, i saw a lots of attacks on this kind of wings front predatory birds
I have reflective tape on my drone so if I ever crash it will be easier to find in brush or rough terrain! Especially at night if you shine a flashlight around, it will be easy to see the reflection. Good to know it might scare birds off too, come to think of it I've never been attacked...
I have noticed that this type of thing tends to happen more when I am flying a smaller drone like the mini series. Birds don't seem to be as interested in trying to mess with the bigger ,louder, and much meaner looking Mavic 3 series.
I have a mavic 3pro lates drone and you will be in for a surprise. I had mine get attacked. I noticed they were scared to make actual contact, but as time went by the attacks started to get closer and closer so I landed. 2k drone, can’t take chances.
I was recently attacked whilst flying my spark over a quarry dam. a flock of50 plovers attacked. I know because I counted them in freeze frame. I have never seen so many together before ! Good tip thanks.
I've started doing this now Brett. Thanks for the insight and fingers crossed keep our drones safer (and indeed keep the pesky birds safer for their own good). I'm referencing your video briefly in an upcoming tutorial I have on my channel. I'll leave a link to this original video.
SUPERNICE, MAN !!! Birds downed two drones of mine ( a FIMI X8 and a MAVIC PRO ), making lack of signal the SECOND cause of problems... so THANK YOU A LOT !!!
Taping the front legs on Mavic 3 will affect the obstacle avoidance system because sun light reflects from them. The drone can stop suddenly mid air. Probably taping rear legs will have an effect too
Very cool! Yeah I started using the strobe during the day for the same reason. Birds don't seem to like flashy things... ibwant to try this though sounds like a good idea. Maybe they need to make some shiny tipped props?
I've put fluorescent stickers on my drone and didn't have problems with birds afterwards. Stuff that emits or reflects light has a clear effect on repelling birds.
I'm an architectural photographer, and only once have I had an "avian encounter." Photographing a cliffside home, I launched my Mavic Pro, and immediately a seagull that had been perched on the home across the street began squawking and swooping at my drone. Its call actually alerted other nearby gulls, and even one kestrel, and in about three minutes my drone was being attacked by over a dozen birds. Swooping, screeching, and even once making contact with a prop leaving a puff of feathers, their attack was unrelenting. They even tried to poop on my poor aircraft! I finally had to abort the mission, getting only about half the images I had wanted. This has not happened to me before or since. I found out later that one of the gulls had a brood of hatchlings on one of the rooftops, so apparently they were defending against this odd and threatening predator. ... I'll be buying a roll of that tape.
Thanks for your work on this and for posting. So far, I’ve had no trouble with birds, but will keep this in mind. It’s a cheap alteration that could be useful.
Great idea! I was just recently knocked into a lake and lost drone by a flock of geese!!! But they weren't attacking me, just a coincidence, they flew just over the top and 1 wing got my mini 2 just right and down it went. I think I was blending into the background as I wasn't that high.
We don’t have a problem in the UK, at least I haven’t had a problem. Combination of super passive birds and a long term plan for environmental destruction has done the trick. Clear skies and timid birds make drone piloting a dream.
Yeah smart birds, I remember when I was a kid I used to pretend to pick up a rock and make a throwing motion to shoo off the birds but after a while they realised I didn't have a rock and didn't budge!
We have to use an anti collision light at night here in the US but if you use it in strobe mode during the day the birds see the flashing light and they move away. I’ve been doing this for about two years and have had many hawks and vultures come over to check things out but quickly fly away when they see that flashing light.
Very interesting! I think red is one of the “warning” colors for birds, and bright orange is, too. Nice, simple solution to the problem. If there are very persistent birds, you might want to try making your drone temporarily behave in a predatory way, by chasing the birds for a few minutes. Sometimes the way to scare off an animal is to become the predator rather than the prey. Very good tip about the tape, and pleasantly simple, which is great!
I wonder if the color is the main thing to keep the birds away. *Retroreflectors* reflect light straight back at the source of the light. Since birds aren't a light source, I don't see how the reflective property helps. Still retroflector tape is cool to have. It's really great for DIY encoders since the tape reflects the IR light right back to the source so well.
WOW! This is very interesting! I might have missed it. Why do they stop attacking our drones when that red tape is present? In 2019 or 20, my drone got attacked from behind. I was cruising and suddenly my drone fell to the ground. Few seconds later, I saw a hawk in the view of my camera, lol.
oh got it. I will try it. When I flew it down the mountains, I was scared that it might get attacked. Glad there was none. Here is the scene of the hawk attack, - ruclips.net/video/-k-rENgP2tU/видео.html
I have just brought my first drone ever dji mini 4pro and wow this thing is fun. I haven’t had any problems with bird 🦅 attacks yet but if I do I’ll give it a try. Thanx for the tip buddy 👍🏻🚁
Thank you for taking up your time,to research this and share it with us. I’ve had a flock of small birds swarm my drone. I was afraid they would knock it out of the air. I don’t fly there anymore, I think the red tape will look pretty cool in spots on my drone. Thanks for sharing 👍🏾
Hi i have 2 parrots at home and they both hate anything which is bright red .. I can see how you're theory works and definitely Help ... I will be trying it out on my drones ... 👍👍👍
I tied a crap ton of reflective tape streamers to our tower crane to deter ospreys. Not only did this not work, they nested directly under them and even ripped some off to put in their nest. Good luck.
Hi Brett, thanks for the video I've always been a little bit nervous flying my drone watching and hoping a bird doesn't lock on to it and attack 😅. I live in Sydney and the last month I've watched a close nesting magpie i call her sniper target and absolutely smash people riding past on bikes and scooters! I sit out the front and somebody rides past smiling saying good day and i say watch out and point up and they instantly have a look of fear and turn around and sure enough Sniper is coming in hot like a heat seeking missile. Some start screaming but most just duck and tuck it's as amusing as it is concerning😅. Anyway i just wanted to let you know at Bunnings they have the same stuff: Croc Grip 10m x 50mm Red Reflective Safety Tape. That should do the trick its only $11. Just incase anyone that can't shop online because of any reason👍. P.s love your videos and you got your self a subscriber. Cheers Brett.
lost two drones in the ocean to bird strike and had magpies put one down... been attacked by ducks, magpies, hawks, swallows, seagulls and oyster catchers.
I'm in Alaska and the dam magpies are mischievous birds. They sit on a omeowners fence and swoop over the dogs over the yard and land on the other side of the yard on the fence. They will go back and forth toying with your dogs. Lol . They harass ravens and pigeons and seagulls. Let's not even talk about how ravens will push snow off a roof on your head and then laugh at you. As far as attacking my drone...... been ok so far.
Ducks attacked you? You must be messing with them or something because when I flew my drone around ducks, they all jumped in the water, stayed, and watched. It was a lot of them too. I got the video
This is genius and I am definitely going to try it. I actually had a bird knock out one of my drones (Mini 3 pro) last year in Uruguay. Another solution, which I have tested and effectively no bird (at least in Florida) has attempted to mess with the drone, are carbon fiber propellers, which have a bit of reflective material and are much stronger and lighter than the propellers from DJI, if a bird happens to get close enough they will get sliced like a tomato in mid-air... But this also makes catching the drone in mid-air (if needed) a bit of a scary situation because those propellers can cause some real damage
I covered my drone with a bright orange skin 2years ago, since then i had no problems. think about it. most birds are Grey and how mamy are bright orange.
I own several drones and have had birds circle and swoop by very close many times. Interestingly, the only drone I've had actually struck by a bird is my, bright orange, Autel Nano+. Because of terrain, I couldn't see the drone when it was hit. I did see some odd movement in the video display but thought it was just some anomaly with the gimbal. After landing, I found a crack in the plastic skin of the drone, on the top, over an inch long. I super glued the crack and the drone flies as good as it ever did. From my experience, I don't feel that the orange color deters birds. I'll probably give the reflective tape a try.
In Brazil I once had a problem with small parrots (called maritacas in portuguese) they flocked around my drone in circles around 50 meter from the ground, I thought they would knock it down, then I put my Mavic Air in sports mode and showed they I coukd fly and manouver must faster than them and they quit bothering.
I was in Brazil this year on holidays, I had no major problems, just an attack by a carcará bird when I was flying in the southern region of Bahia, but nothing compares to Australia here the crows are freaking angry
Just bought my first drone today. Glad I stumbled upon this video. It's actually my 6 year old son's Christmas present 😁😁😁 Or is it? If it does what I am hoping I may buy a better one.
I encountered crows and hawks while vacationing in Liberia. The crows got close but flew away when I claimed fast and never approached the drone again. The hawks were very aggressive. Will try the tape. Thanks.
Has anyone witnessed the obstacle ovoidance being enough to cause the drone to dodge the bigger birds? I am using a Mini Pro 4 where bald eagles, osprey and various hawks are prevalent -- no attacks yet... Did have a hummingbird hover directly in front of the camera; it left and returned, staying away from the props- fun footage!
I've just ordered the tape... keen to try anything. Had to get some real estate shots this morning in Melbourne's South East and the crows were out in force. I've actually lost a Mavic Pro and a Mavic Pro 2 to magpies already. My Mini 3 Pro survived a direct hit because the camera gimbal is slightly inset into the body of the drone. I've got 4 more flights booked for this week, can't wait to see if the tape helps.
@@reviewprodigy I'd actually just resigned myself to the probability of losing another drone this spring. $70 for a replacement under care refresh has been a lifesaver (providing you can land it/retrieve it).
Pee Wees are the only bird that bothers my drone. All the magpies are friendly in my region, no issues, but I'll put your suggestion to the test in my area. Thanks
What a great find!!! Back before the drones of today, we flew camera rigs slung underneath or onto the frame of our R/C helicopters... I never had one take my rig out of the sky but I blended a few, for sure! I had to autorotate once because of damaged tail blades... In 2008 when I was mostly manually flying what is now a drone, birds were definitely more attracted it... Likely due to the noises / vibrations from a fast spinning large rotor disk... Never thought about finding a way to discourage them... Thanks for sharing this! While I don't do aerial photog videog any longer, I'm sure this will help countless people who do...
Have you tried Firehouse strobes top and bottom ? I flew for 4 hrs. in open Mtn. area with hawks calling near the field but never seen a single bird around the area after take off.
I love it. Now we need to find the way to put Birds Natural Reserves on the DJI maps. I just flew into one that is open only 3 days a week and I always miss it. They are not allowing to fly drones there without the permission. I didn't know. Software didn't tell me anything about it. We are close to the airport. I was getting warnings about that and I focus my attention on them.
I've used a similar trick on my drones using two colours of reflective tape. Red for port side and green for starboard side, this also helps me instantly know the orientation of the drown even from some distance.
Great tip. I have this reflective stuff on both my drones (the mini only has yellow, the Air 2 S has one red one and white, yellow and orange for the batteries). I had no idea, but can't say I had a lot of bird problems, even though some came pretty close, seemingly by accident. I'll put some more red on both drones now. Thanks for sharing!
Here is the links to the tape if it interests you :)
US Viewers
amzn.to/3RYSwPv
AU Viewers
amzn.to/3QlFvhF
Thank you.
you're welcome
THANK YOU@@reviewprodigy any new video with this tape on yours drone ?
I did a follow up video here ruclips.net/video/J4WFCodpLXU/видео.html @@predator1990
Interesting. I've been attacked by seagulls and a kestrel before when flying my Inspire. Never had a problem with any of my fpv drones as they're too fast and manoeuvrable. But I did learn a tip to stop my DJI drones getting attacked by birds - and it works every time: fly higher than the attacking bird. Only needs to be for a short while and they will leave. A bird of prey specilaist/ornathologist told me it's nature's way of signalling who's highest in the food chain. Small birds flee when birds of prey above them. Even birds of prey flee when a drone is bearing down on them. Airspace cleared every time i've flown since I learned that.
My FPV Avata got grabbed and thrown by a hawk while I was going 40mph.
What height did you get to and find effective?
I was thinking it must be something like that . I've been flying since 2016 and had a few hawks have a go but that's about it and found if I flew straight up and a bit aggressive they soon nicked off .
@@VideographerBill OOF! How did it end? Did you crash or take any damage?
Never been attacked but always worried about it. Let me try this next time.
I use reflective tape to keep birds away from my vegetable garden and it works great. So it makes sense that it works for drones too. Great tip!
That's a great idea!
Any particular tape? And any particular spot?
I tried this but I ended up being divebombed by seagulls. Still trying to find an alternative
The material at 2:00 is called 3M Diamond Grade Reflective Series 4000. Available on AMZ in different width tapes and sheets. Very strong adhesive. Wont come off after sticking to drone. It is originally designed for signs and has 10 years warranty under all weather conditions!
Top man! Found some in the UK
Just got my first drone..mavic mini..and will do this.
My second flight ever last week with my mini 4 pro and had 2 wedge tails circle above it. Very interested in it so I put it in sports mode and zoomed straight home!
good move:)
I did same last week. They were faster than the drone even in sport mode. I hope these techniques work
😏 couldn't believe it but it's definitely an issue..
Well done on trying this. Another likely colour combo would be yellow and black in a striped setup. Many dangerous organisms such as wasps use this combo to ward off potential predators. I’ll try red on my drone first to see how the birds respond. Cheers.
Brilliant! I am a very new drone pilot and a couple weeks ago almost freaked out as soon as some birds at the beach attacked my drone. I will definitely try this! Thank you :)
Its very stressful when they get close to your drone
@@reviewprodigy it was!
Interesting tip, thanks Brett.
I’ve been shooting real estate with drones for nearly 3 years now and I’ve found that in general it’s the larger drones such as the Mavic Pro series which will get attacked by large birds such as hawks and eagles.
I mostly fly the mini drones such as the 2 and for the last few weeks the new 4 pro and for the most part the large birds like eagles, magpies, crows and cockatoos tend to ignore it (I have more issues being chased by groups of bees and butterflies lol) but smaller birds, especially aggressive birds like the Indian Miners, really go for it at this time of the year. I’ll have to test this method out and see how it goes.
let us know how it goes !
I found the opposite. I almost never had any issues with the Phantom4 Pro but the Mini 3 Pro was a much more regular target. And I actually had birds touch it whereas on the Air 3 I'm on now they don't seem to actually touch it, just get near
@@Flamamacue interesting. Not sure why this happens but lately I've had no bird issues with the mini 4 pro even smaller birds and it's 'nesting seson' here. Eagles and so on have always ignored my mini drones but usually swooped on the Mavid series. No idea why.
So far, I’ve been spared the Malay of birds strikes. But I will definitely look out for them and keep the reflective tape in mind. Thank you for the tip.
Very useful for me. I have a huge population of magpies and red tail hawks in my flying area. I have ravens also but never been bothered by them
Glad it was helpful!. Let me know how well it works for you
I will be trying it in Canada and I'll let you know. I've been swooped too many times; last week over a lake again and almost lost the drone but it recovered after quite a tumble from altitude. Kestrels, crows, seagulls, and hawks are the issue for me. That last incident was recorded in video shorts "Bird Strike Recovery", it paints the M3P in a good light!
I see you commented about a month ago.. How the test go?
It works to stop actual strikes but they still approach. I just posted a short today called 'don't fly with geese', in it you can see many get close but no strikes. I should add, I used a Razor iridescent decal...sorta looks like the Isle of Mann flag and reflects many colors from all angles.@@JavierGonzalez-ot3uy
How did the test go? I'm in BC and just ordered the Mini 3.
It works, no more buzzing. I still don't push my luck around eagles, osprey, or a hawk if I see it but the other birds stay away.@@davaarmedia
How did it go?
I have used reflective tape on my quads for years to be able to find them after crashes. I also put it on my gopro's for the same reason. Hawks and Owls in Florida don't care about it . They apparently choose violence.
I'll bet it's a relief to find that the tape apparently works.
Kudos for sticking with it to find something that does.
Good old detective work does it again!
Thanks for your comment. It works great 90% of the time. When its overcast the birds get a little more adventurous but it still keeps them away:)
@@reviewprodigy Ever ran a strobe on top? Wondering if the flashing would keep them away.
@@bigfranksworldI have, and it works well)
Thanks for the tip. I have had no direct attack as yet, but one or two scares over the years. Both times during nesting seasons here in Ireland. I simply move away from the area, seeing i only fly as a hobby.
Nice tip - I had a few birds circling my drone in Gippsland last weekend. I just picked up some of the reflective red tape from Bunnings, but thinking about also adding a small red strobe to the drone to reflect off the tape. Seems like it might multiply the effect of the tape, but also make it a lot easier to spot the drone if a bird brings it down!
Not a bad idea, Ill be doing a follow up video before christmas with some other things I have tried as well.
@@reviewprodigy Yes, red and green would be good for Christmas.
Thank you for sharing this Trick....Birds are the biggest worry for anyone flying a Drone.
yes they are
I have just ordered some, lets see what happens, i am just starting out so advice from people like you is priceless, thank you.
Thank you for your support , I appreciate it!
I've spent about 40hrs flying in NSW and a bit around QLD and luckily haven't been attacked. Though most of my time is spent moving rather than stationary for photos. This is good to know and I will be more cautious when I see birds
They can be a real problem
I have that same issue. 3 bird strikes and many near misses in the log. thanks for saving me all the research time involved. Ill give it a try
Glad to help
Thanks for the great tip. I always fit Propeller Guards when flying near birds.
Great tip!
That's what I thought the tip would be Peter. Makes sense, as unless the bird was a raptor or somehow managed to turn the drone upside down, a modern drone would not be likely to fall out of the sky. A sea-eagle, wedgetail or similar large raptor or a fast moving crow, currawong, butcherbird, magpie, gull or plover might hit hard enough to break an arm off the drone - otherwise it's probably prop damage that brings them down.
Thanks, I ordered this type from Amazon. I waiting delivery untill 2 -3 days and will trying, because im in the Austrian Alphs and here we have a lot of large birds such as hawks and eagles.
Good Luck:)
9 years as a pro pilot in Colorado, I've had dozens of red tail hawk and eagle encounters. But the only emergency situation I've had was caused by a magpie. It cost him his life, and it cost me a Zenmuse X5. I tried the orange reflector tape years ago, it had zero effect in my experience. What I found works the best is a red strobe on the drone. Not one issue in the past 6 years. They don't even bother my Inspire 2. I just got the M350T, first thing I did was stick two red strobes on the top.
Thanks for the info
What is this particular strobe you mention? I have lumacube strobe for night flying but it is white.
@@Clickumentary I used the Lumecube as well. The egg shaped ones that comes with both a red and green plastic cover. Depending on the drone I use 1 to 3 of them. Kinda dumb, but it really does work.
I too use red flashing lights. birds seems to avoid my drone.
Please be so kind to share a photo of this setup. Much appreciated
@WOTHFPV
I watched both your videos on the subject and I have put this exact tape on, but in your other video you said to put a strobe light on top as well.
Well I have flown a few times with no issues, didn’t see any birds, but today a hawk followed my Mini 4 Pro and circles it on two occasions but never came with around 10m of it. So I count this as massive success.
The interesting part was on the second flight when the hawk came back to circle, other birds started to attack the hawk rather than going for my drone. So thank you for the tips, it seems to be working well. 🎉
Awesome:)
In Oregon, the mighty Osprey, with a nearly 6 foot wingspan, definitely aren’t happy with drones in their airspace. They are powerful birds and can easily take down a Mavic 3 size or even larger drone. Hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’ve had them circling overhead a few times and quickly landed, will definitely try the red reflective tape. Thanks for the tip. 🙏🏼
I am also interesested if birds of prey are lets say affected by it. Im interested to put it in an fpv wing, i saw a lots of attacks on this kind of wings front predatory birds
Osprey are evil birds if you're a tower climber
Osprey are protected birds you can not fly near them...
I don’t have a bird problem, but if I ever do now, I know what to do. I ordered that tape just to keep it around. Thanks for doing the video.
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated
Oh, I'm definitely testing it out as soon as I find some reflective red tape here in Greece!!!
I have reflective tape on my drone so if I ever crash it will be easier to find in brush or rough terrain! Especially at night if you shine a flashlight around, it will be easy to see the reflection. Good to know it might scare birds off too, come to think of it I've never been attacked...
Thats a very good point:)
I have noticed that this type of thing tends to happen more when I am flying a smaller drone like the mini series. Birds don't seem to be as interested in trying to mess with the bigger ,louder, and much meaner looking Mavic 3 series.
Interesting! I have the Mavic2Pro and they love attacking it
I have a mavic 3pro lates drone and you will be in for a surprise. I had mine get attacked. I noticed they were scared to make actual contact, but as time went by the attacks started to get closer and closer so I landed. 2k drone, can’t take chances.
Thats what happened to me in the beginning. Thats why I started to look for a soluton@@andylopez6393
I was recently attacked whilst flying my spark over a quarry dam. a flock of50 plovers attacked. I know because I counted them in freeze frame. I have never seen so many together before ! Good tip thanks.
It sounds like an organized attack. Those Plovers are relentless:)
I've started doing this now Brett. Thanks for the insight and fingers crossed keep our drones safer (and indeed keep the pesky birds safer for their own good).
I'm referencing your video briefly in an upcoming tutorial I have on my channel. I'll leave a link to this original video.
Much appreciated, feel free to come back here and link your video as well
ruclips.net/video/JtI4EgKNK04/видео.htmlsi=dnZwZ6lUtnFMf1tm
Thanks Brett, gulls made me nervous the other day but the tape still seems to be working
SUPERNICE, MAN !!! Birds downed two drones of mine ( a FIMI X8 and a MAVIC PRO ), making lack of signal the SECOND cause of problems... so THANK YOU A LOT !!!
Glad to help
Taping the front legs on Mavic 3 will affect the obstacle avoidance system because sun light reflects from them. The drone can stop suddenly mid air. Probably taping rear legs will have an effect too
Great tip , thanks for the effort and time to share your experiences. Will try it out
Thank you
Very cool! Yeah I started using the strobe during the day for the same reason. Birds don't seem to like flashy things... ibwant to try this though sounds like a good idea. Maybe they need to make some shiny tipped props?
I think the phantom 3 wayback had red bands on the arms, I wonder why they moved over to grey
Thanks for your work. This will help me on my next job.
I've put fluorescent stickers on my drone and didn't have problems with birds afterwards. Stuff that emits or reflects light has a clear effect on repelling birds.
I love all these solutions that everyone is suggesting.:) Thanks for yours
Lol I had a bunch of this tape and was trying to figure out what to do with it. Now i have ideas!
nice one:)
I can confirm it helps, I use silver reflecting stickers and no problems (fly much in open fields) !
I will gladly try that out - thank you so much for the great idea and video, Brett! 🙂
Thank you :)
I'm an architectural photographer, and only once have I had an "avian encounter." Photographing a cliffside home, I launched my Mavic Pro, and immediately a seagull that had been perched on the home across the street began squawking and swooping at my drone. Its call actually alerted other nearby gulls, and even one kestrel, and in about three minutes my drone was being attacked by over a dozen birds. Swooping, screeching, and even once making contact with a prop leaving a puff of feathers, their attack was unrelenting. They even tried to poop on my poor aircraft! I finally had to abort the mission, getting only about half the images I had wanted. This has not happened to me before or since. I found out later that one of the gulls had a brood of hatchlings on one of the rooftops, so apparently they were defending against this odd and threatening predator. ... I'll be buying a roll of that tape.
I'm a Real Estate Photographer, I understand your pain:)
Ty for the tip. Never actually thought birds would attack a drone. Makes sense though. I’ll try it.
Thanks for your comment
Thanks for your work on this and for posting. So far, I’ve had no trouble with birds, but will keep this in mind. It’s a cheap alteration that could be useful.
You're very welcome!
Great idea! I was just recently knocked into a lake and lost drone by a flock of geese!!! But they weren't attacking me, just a coincidence, they flew just over the top and 1 wing got my mini 2 just right and down it went. I think I was blending into the background as I wasn't that high.
Oh that sucks:(
We don’t have a problem in the UK, at least I haven’t had a problem. Combination of super passive birds and a long term plan for environmental destruction has done the trick. Clear skies and timid birds make drone piloting a dream.
Knock on wood buddy
Come down South Seagulls are a menace i be trying this with a strobe.
Glad I saw this video. Will definitely try this reflective red tape on my drone. Thank You
Glad it was helpful!
I bet if you flew around the asme crows they'd eventually figure it out and start messing with the drone again. Super smart birds.
Yeah smart birds, I remember when I was a kid I used to pretend to pick up a rock and make a throwing motion to shoo off the birds but after a while they realised I didn't have a rock and didn't budge!
Great tip !! I will try since Ive been attacked by seagulls and bees
Good luck!
We have to use an anti collision light at night here in the US but if you use it in strobe mode during the day the birds see the flashing light and they move away. I’ve been doing this for about two years and have had many hawks and vultures come over to check things out but quickly fly away when they see that flashing light.
Ive been testing this myself with great results
Thank you, I am new to drone and this is really helpfull.
Glad it was helpful!
Very interesting! I think red is one of the “warning” colors for birds, and bright orange is, too. Nice, simple solution to the problem. If there are very persistent birds, you might want to try making your drone temporarily behave in a predatory way, by chasing the birds for a few minutes. Sometimes the way to scare off an animal is to become the predator rather than the prey. Very good tip about the tape, and pleasantly simple, which is great!
I wonder if the color is the main thing to keep the birds away. *Retroreflectors* reflect light straight back at the source of the light. Since birds aren't a light source, I don't see how the reflective property helps. Still retroflector tape is cool to have. It's really great for DIY encoders since the tape reflects the IR light right back to the source so well.
Did try this , it works for few minutes than they (birds) come back, specially if I need to shoot photos
I will try next time in Spain! Those seagulls are nuts!
WOW! This is very interesting! I might have missed it. Why do they stop attacking our drones when that red tape is present? In 2019 or 20, my drone got attacked from behind. I was cruising and suddenly my drone fell to the ground. Few seconds later, I saw a hawk in the view of my camera, lol.
its highly reflective, sorry to hear about your drone
oh got it. I will try it. When I flew it down the mountains, I was scared that it might get attacked. Glad there was none. Here is the scene of the hawk attack, - ruclips.net/video/-k-rENgP2tU/видео.html
Should it be red or doesn't matter as long as it is highly reflective?
Thanks, my problem in NSW are Wedge Tail Eagles. I'll give it a go.
I'm curious to see how that goes:)
Me too. I lost mine last week
I have just brought my first drone ever dji mini 4pro and wow this thing is fun. I haven’t had any problems with bird 🦅 attacks yet but if I do I’ll give it a try. Thanx for the tip buddy 👍🏻🚁
Glad to help
Worth trying it out...👍
Let me know how you go
Thank you for taking up your time,to research this and share it with us.
I’ve had a flock of small birds swarm my drone. I was afraid they would knock it out of the air.
I don’t fly there anymore, I think the red tape will look pretty cool in spots on my drone. Thanks for sharing 👍🏾
Glad to help. Let me know how it works for you in your area when you try it.
Gosh, birds are way crazier in Australia.
You got that bloody right . Enough to make a bloke turn gay !
Hi i have 2 parrots at home and they both hate anything which is bright red .. I can see how you're theory works and definitely Help ... I will be trying it out on my drones ... 👍👍👍
Awesome!
My drone was attacked by a flock of about 200 pigeons . Being a former pigeon racer I was as concerned about the birds as I was with the drone .
I hope all came out ok
*That poor kid @ **3:47** thought he had ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE! He was fighting for HIS DEAR LIFE!* 😂
Yep it must have been scary for him
I have aluminum foil tape . Super reflective
does it work against birds, have you tried it yet?
I tied a crap ton of reflective tape streamers to our tower crane to deter ospreys. Not only did this not work, they nested directly under them and even ripped some off to put in their nest. Good luck.
Try a few of the strobes in this video maybe ruclips.net/video/J4WFCodpLXU/видео.htmlsi=zN2Xnhna69rrs87o
Hi Brett, thanks for the video I've always been a little bit nervous flying my drone watching and hoping a bird doesn't lock on to it and attack 😅. I live in Sydney and the last month I've watched a close nesting magpie i call her sniper target and absolutely smash people riding past on bikes and scooters! I sit out the front and somebody rides past smiling saying good day and i say watch out and point up and they instantly have a look of fear and turn around and sure enough Sniper is coming in hot like a heat seeking missile. Some start screaming but most just duck and tuck it's as amusing as it is concerning😅. Anyway i just wanted to let you know at Bunnings they have the same stuff: Croc Grip 10m x 50mm Red Reflective Safety Tape. That should do the trick its only $11. Just incase anyone that can't shop online because of any reason👍. P.s love your videos and you got your self a subscriber. Cheers Brett.
Thanks for the funny story and subscribing cheers:)
Thanks. Tape on order... along with the flashing light you suggested in another video.
Good one:)
lost two drones in the ocean to bird strike and had magpies put one down... been attacked by ducks, magpies, hawks, swallows, seagulls and oyster catchers.
I'm in Alaska and the dam magpies are mischievous birds. They sit on a omeowners fence and swoop over the dogs over the yard and land on the other side of the yard on the fence. They will go back and forth toying with your dogs. Lol . They harass ravens and pigeons and seagulls. Let's not even talk about how ravens will push snow off a roof on your head and then laugh at you.
As far as attacking my drone...... been ok so far.
Ducks attacked you? You must be messing with them or something because when I flew my drone around ducks, they all jumped in the water, stayed, and watched. It was a lot of them too. I got the video
I have this tape in a very reflective silver have you tried silver / clear reflective tape?
I havent tried it. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes
you get the added benefit that the red tape makes your drone look ultra fearsome
I agree, it looks more aggressive thats for sure
Aggressive enough to spook some humans?
Good info 👍I cut the tape into the shape of a scorpion, wasn't going to put ugly rectangles on the drone :)
good idea
This is genius and I am definitely going to try it. I actually had a bird knock out one of my drones (Mini 3 pro) last year in Uruguay. Another solution, which I have tested and effectively no bird (at least in Florida) has attempted to mess with the drone, are carbon fiber propellers, which have a bit of reflective material and are much stronger and lighter than the propellers from DJI, if a bird happens to get close enough they will get sliced like a tomato in mid-air... But this also makes catching the drone in mid-air (if needed) a bit of a scary situation because those propellers can cause some real damage
hope your mini is fine
Interesting. I've heard of bird attacks but I've never had it happen to my drones.
I covered my drone with a bright orange skin 2years ago, since then i had no problems. think about it. most birds are Grey and how mamy are bright orange.
That was why I picke the red :)
I own several drones and have had birds circle and swoop by very close many times. Interestingly, the only drone I've had actually struck by a bird is my, bright orange, Autel Nano+. Because of terrain, I couldn't see the drone when it was hit. I did see some odd movement in the video display but thought it was just some anomaly with the gimbal. After landing, I found a crack in the plastic skin of the drone, on the top, over an inch long. I super glued the crack and the drone flies as good as it ever did. From my experience, I don't feel that the orange color deters birds. I'll probably give the reflective tape a try.
Wow, well done on research & video! I'm ready to order off your link asap!
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated
In Brazil I once had a problem with small parrots (called maritacas in portuguese) they flocked around my drone in circles around 50 meter from the ground, I thought they would knock it down, then I put my Mavic Air in sports mode and showed they I coukd fly and manouver must faster than them and they quit bothering.
nicely done
*cough* bullsh*t
@@mark675😅
I was in Brazil this year on holidays, I had no major problems, just an attack by a carcará bird when I was flying in the southern region of Bahia, but nothing compares to Australia here the crows are freaking angry
Great idea! Such a simple solution to avoid a catastrophic loss.
I think so too!
Jump to 1 minute 58 for the answer
Even in bangalore - I face same problems with birds ! Thanks for your input
I hope it helps
In America just tie machine guns to our drones and the birds seem to leave us alone.
Thanks for the awesome tip Brett, I've had a few problems with birds here in New Zealand, will give the tape a go.
Glad to help
Jesus just say reflective tape...
I'll try it in the Philippines and California. The florescent red sounds interesting too.
Good Luck :)
Just bought my first drone today. Glad I stumbled upon this video.
It's actually my 6 year old son's Christmas present 😁😁😁
Or is it?
If it does what I am hoping I may buy a better one.
good luck with it
Thanks for the tip. I'm definitely going to try it out!
Let me know how it goes
What would be the impact of red or orange propellers instead?
Give this a watch as I explain that very thing ruclips.net/video/J4WFCodpLXU/видео.html
Thanks for this awesome, informative video. Thanks for sharing your experience !
Thank you for your comment;)
So, I use strobes but they have 3 colors, red, green, white…was yours flashing white, green or red?
I encountered crows and hawks while vacationing in Liberia. The crows got close but flew away when I claimed fast and never approached the drone again. The hawks were very aggressive. Will try the tape. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing, Let me know how it goes against hawks.
Has anyone witnessed the obstacle ovoidance being enough to cause the drone to dodge the bigger birds?
I am using a Mini Pro 4 where bald eagles, osprey and various hawks are prevalent -- no attacks yet...
Did have a hummingbird hover directly in front of the camera; it left and returned, staying away from the props- fun footage!
I've just ordered the tape... keen to try anything. Had to get some real estate shots this morning in Melbourne's South East and the crows were out in force. I've actually lost a Mavic Pro and a Mavic Pro 2 to magpies already. My Mini 3 Pro survived a direct hit because the camera gimbal is slightly inset into the body of the drone. I've got 4 more flights booked for this week, can't wait to see if the tape helps.
It helps me plenty, im in melbournes east. Crows are the worst
@@reviewprodigy I'd actually just resigned myself to the probability of losing another drone this spring. $70 for a replacement under care refresh has been a lifesaver (providing you can land it/retrieve it).
@@johnnyonline Yeah, it helps for sure. Since I've put the tape on I've had no bird contact with the drone at all.
Pee Wees are the only bird that bothers my drone. All the magpies are friendly in my region, no issues, but I'll put your suggestion to the test in my area. Thanks
What a great find!!! Back before the drones of today, we flew camera rigs slung underneath or onto the frame of our R/C helicopters... I never had one take my rig out of the sky but I blended a few, for sure! I had to autorotate once because of damaged tail blades... In 2008 when I was mostly manually flying what is now a drone, birds were definitely more attracted it... Likely due to the noises / vibrations from a fast spinning large rotor disk... Never thought about finding a way to discourage them... Thanks for sharing this! While I don't do aerial photog videog any longer, I'm sure this will help countless people who do...
Thanks for your comments
Excellent tip! I'll try it in Costa Rica!
Let me know how you go
Have you tried Firehouse strobes top and bottom ?
I flew for 4 hrs. in open Mtn. area with hawks calling near the field but never seen a single bird around the area after take off.
No I havent tried them, where did you buy them?
Great advice, I’ll try it.
Thanks for your comment
Interesting, I keep that in mind! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I love it. Now we need to find the way to put Birds Natural Reserves on the DJI maps. I just flew into one that is open only 3 days a week and I always miss it. They are not allowing to fly drones there without the permission. I didn't know. Software didn't tell me anything about it. We are close to the airport. I was getting warnings about that and I focus my attention on them.
That would be a great idea:)
Thanks for sharing such valuable information.
My pleasure
Ill try it, I have very hard times in Icelands and I had to land all the time to avoid hurting birds
Good luck :)
I've used a similar trick on my drones using two colours of reflective tape. Red for port side and green for starboard side, this also helps me instantly know the orientation of the drown even from some distance.
Thats a goos idea:)
Thanks man can't wait to try this
No problem :)
Awesome tip! Cheers Brett.
Glad to help :)
Great tip. I have this reflective stuff on both my drones (the mini only has yellow, the Air 2 S has one red one and white, yellow and orange for the batteries). I had no idea, but can't say I had a lot of bird problems, even though some came pretty close, seemingly by accident. I'll put some more red on both drones now. Thanks for sharing!
looks like you've got everything you need.:)