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Just flying for fun, then I got a very stern warning!

Same warning a couple days ago in East Kty, was flying a rock formation called Ravens Rock. 200' above a couple of hawks were looking for lunch, then a couple more joined, then a shrill call and 2 started diving!!!!, I went straight down to 50' and they followed!!!
fortunately they were smart raptors. They pulled up n went back to looking for lunch!
 
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Same warning a couple days ago in East Kty, was flying a rock formation called Ravens Rock. 200' above a couple of hawks were looking for lunch, then a couple more joined, then a shrill call and 2 started diving!!!!, I went straight down to 50' and they followed!!!
fortunately they were smart raptors. They pulled up n went back to looking for lunch!
I've seen these attacks on YouTube and wondered if the birds hurt themselves when contacting the props!
 
I do everything I can to steer clear, last thing I want to do is injure a critter, now humans.... ;)
The ones I encountered seemed to be "saying" get lost, this is OUR hunting ground!
came within 20' but from the top, so I didn't see them on the display except for the shadow, I went straight to treetop and the bird went back to hunting with the other 3. swallows have "included" me as just another bug eater, never aggressive. I typically just hover til they move on
 
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As broadcaster do you ever share your drone media on the air?....
I'm not allowed to post on my company's platforms because I don't have my Part 107 certification and they don't want the liability. So for now it is only my youtube channel and places like this. I'm retiring at the end of this year, so at that point I'll take control of my Facebook Fan page (around 30,000 followers) and will be excited to share more of my work with that wider audience.
 
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I'm not allowed to post on my company's platforms because I don't have my Part 107 certification and they don't want the liability. So for now it is only my youtube channel and places like this. I'm retiring at the end of this year, so at that point I'll take control of my Facebook Fan page (around 30,000 followers) and will be excited to share more of my work with that wider audience.
Thanks for the reply.... think hard about getting your 107 it wouldn't be difficult and would allow you a lot of latitude with your Facebook audience. You may be able to monetize it on Youtube with that many followers, even if it was just for a little bit of fun.
 
Thanks for the reply.... think hard about getting your 107 it wouldn't be difficult and would allow you a lot of latitude with your Facebook audience. You may be able to monetize it on Youtube with that many followers, even if it was just for a little bit of fun.
Absolutely, thanks for the encouragement; I'm about halfway through it now, using the UAV coach online courses for my instructors! I'm hoping to take the test by the time I retire!
 
That looks like a Turkey Vulture rather than a hawk. Note the pattern of light colored feathers on the underside of the wings in the first photo on the linked page.

It's unlikely that they would attack anything in the air. Probably just a close pass while thermaling.

 
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Look at the "finger feathers" as they flare out, that's pretty indicative of a bird of prey. you can see the reddish hue also, guessing by that a Red tail hawk.
 
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Possibly. But lots of other soaring birds also have those feathers on the wingtips.

The dark morphs of Red-Tail Hawks do have that light/dark pattern on the undersides of the wings. Their coloration varies tremendously.

On the other hand birds in the videos do show that tilting flight that vultures do.

Here's a clip from the video. It's hard to see color but the beak looks more like a Turkey Vulture than a hawk.

video.bird.jpg

Turkey Vulture from the Cornell bird site. (Red head is often difficult to see.)

turkey.vulture.jpg

I'll check in with a couple of friends who are serious birders.
 
I went out in my back yard early yesterday, had 3 buzzards roasting in a tree! Maybe a "sign"? :)
All I know for sure, the one that came at me was a hawk. I was only 200' out n 200' up when i noticed them, almost as soon as I spotted them, they spotted me, one peeled off, wings tucked in a dive, I went down fast, he flared out, went off to hunt real food
 
The two birds in the first part of the video were Turkey Vultures also know as Buzzards. The second part of the video also looks like it was a Turkey Vulture and what looks to me like it was thermaling and suddenly realized it got too close to the drone and did a quick avoidance move, rather than any sort of attack move. A raptor will not gently circle over to something they intend to warn or attack, they will make a serious obvious attack move to warn another bird and from above, not off to its side.

I used to circle with the Turkey Vultures when I lived in Kentucky, catching thermals with sometimes up to 26 birds at a time in a big thermal, so I have a lot of time right up close with them and for up to 15 minutes at a time between thermals. Hawks look and act a lot different when thermaling with them. Plus, when you get close to one, they often drop their weapons to show you what might be coming. As I gently veered off a bit, those talons went back up into the locked position.

I then moved closer again to see if that was just a coincidence but nope, those talons dropped back down again as it looked over at me, so I gently wandered off a bit further from it and they went back up. Very interesting to see that up close and personal to them. I used to love being in thermals with those birds.

If the bird in the video was giving a warning to the drone it would have come at it with its talons down and ready. You can see that this is not the case in this video. Trust me, when they are down and the bird is threatening you, you can clearly see them, there is no mistaking them.
 
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Absolutely, thanks for the encouragement; I'm about halfway through it now, using the UAV coach online courses for my instructors! I'm hoping to take the test by the time I retire!


That's a fantastic course! Alan is a great instructor! He's also very quick to respond to personal emails. I used the same course and passed on my first try with no problems. Great choice. Make sure to follow their YouTube channel.
 
That looks like a Turkey Vulture rather than a hawk. Note the pattern of light colored feathers on the underside of the wings in the first photo on the linked page.

It's unlikely that they would attack anything in the air. Probably just a close pass while thermaling.

Yep, that is a vulture! Notice neither bird in the vide flapped their wings much where any hawk flaps quite a bit comparatively.
 
Yep, that is a vulture! Notice neither bird in the video flapped their wings much where any hawk flaps quite a bit comparatively. My Mavic Pro has been whacked once by a hawk which cracked a prop. Luckily, I was able to bring it home. There were "scratch" marks all over the top of the drone but I don't know what happened to the hawk as it just flew away. (I'll bet those props hurt like heck!)
 

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