Close Encounter with an Eagle

[3putts]

I've been harassed by Swifts, White-Throated Swifts in fact, while flying at the Toadstool Hoodoos. Swifts are the fastest birds in their group and among the fastest birds on the planet so trying to out-fly them is quite simply impossible -- the Inspire 2 wouldn't stand a chance so the P4P isn't even in the running. As you can see in my video they make frequent strafing runs at the P4P but stay far enough away to avoid contact. They are petty amazing birds for sure as they are purpose built for one thing -- speed!

Brian

Great job! I'm familiar with the area, but not all shown in your beautiful video.

 

[OOO]

Was flying a P4P near my home today when I had a too close encounter with a bald eagle. I have over 80 hours in flying Phantoms and a Mavic and never had a run in with any type of bird before.

I have spotted eagles flying near my father's cottage, but have no interest in disturbing wildlife, and always give them a wide birth.

I caught a flash coming from below and to my right and snapped a quick picture, put it in sport mode and accelerated out of the area, he chased me a long way and almost down to ground level. There is a wooded area nearby, and possibly a nest I was not aware of - another area to stay away from.

Here is the picture I took as I first saw the eagle coming. He obviously was not happy with the P4P.View attachment 98054

Great picture. Doesn’t look friendly

 

[Treeman]

I've encountered them 3 or 4 times, right out of the blue. Usually around the river. The only temporary defense is full throttle straight up as was stated above. Then I get her home, let me blood pressure return to normal, and cross that location off my list!

 

[Harleydude]

Was flying a P4P near my home today when I had a too close encounter with a bald eagle. I have over 80 hours in flying Phantoms and a Mavic and never had a run in with any type of bird before.

I have spotted eagles flying near my father's cottage, but have no interest in disturbing wildlife, and always give them a wide birth.

I caught a flash coming from below and to my right and snapped a quick picture, put it in sport mode and accelerated out of the area, he chased me a long way and almost down to ground level. There is a wooded area nearby, and possibly a nest I was not aware of - another area to stay away from.

Here is the picture I took as I first saw the eagle coming. He obviously was not happy with the P4P.View attachment 98054

Looks like he's yelling at you, "Hey!!" LOL... That's a little too close for comfort. My Phantom got uncomfortably close to a hawk on a mapping mission a couple weeks ago.

 

[Kelly1946]

I've had seagulls and red tailed hawks fly toward mine and I just go down and away. No problems yet.... (fingers crossed).

 

[African wildlife]

You are not going to outrun one.

I agree. Having watched our eagles hunt on many occasions, they are masters of the sky. As well as the fast speed, it's their ability to rapidly twist and turn to grab evading prey - think cheetah on the ground - which is impressive.

 

[Russ43Phantom]

Birds attack their prey from above. Drones don't don't decrease altitude fast. I keep this in mind when flying at my lakeside home where there are 2 eagles. First, before flying, I scan the area to assure that the eagles are not flying at the time. Then, while flying, I am always ready to rapidly fly upward as an evasive maneuver which I hope I'll never need to do.

 

[RSC]

I was flying my P3P last weeks and caught a Red Tail Hawk out of the corner of my eye. There is a family that lives on the property, and the last thing I wanted was to have a encounter with that bird and mine. I quickly brought the drone home and waited until he was out of site. I agree with CaptinMileHigh, we don't own the air space they do!

 

[Dallas Drone Guy]

I've been harassed by Swifts, White-Throated Swifts in fact, while flying at the Toadstool Hoodoos. Swifts are the fastest birds in their group and among the fastest birds on the planet so trying to out-fly them is quite simply impossible -- the Inspire 2 wouldn't stand a chance so the P4P isn't even in the running. As you can see in my video they make frequent strafing runs at the P4P but stay far enough away to avoid contact. They are petty amazing birds for sure as they are purpose built for one thing -- speed!

Brian

Sorry man, beautiful vid, but I am not watching for 19 minutes to find the bird part. I am supposed to be working! Can you call out the time at which the birds interact with your "bird"?
TY

 

[Mark J Colbert]

They can fly at around 30mph, depending on how pissed they are they can be faster, and their dive speed is significantly faster than a P4, so it keeping up would not be at all surprising.

Also, there is footage of an eagle snatching a Phantom out of the sky and dragging it to the ground.

Great shot, He doesn't appear happy. Was he able to keep up as you departed in ATTI mode?

Here's an encounter I had with a Red-Tailed Hawk. I decided to have some fun with it.

 

[OOO]

Here's an encounter I had with a Red-Tailed Hawk. I decided to have some fun with it.

She is trying to tell you “leave me alone”

 

[Raptorman0909]

Sorry man, beautiful vid, but I am not watching for 19 minutes to find the bird part. I am supposed to be working! Can you call out the time at which the birds interact with your "bird"?
TY

The Swifts do flybys throughout but at 14:35 there's some better views of them. In the video I say there's one of them but after looking at it more closely there were in fact at least two Swifts strafing the P4P.


Brian

 

[OOO]

Is this an assault or some sort of greeting?

 

[kbviper]

Hard to tell. I tried viewing it frame by frame and given the speed and orientation of the “fly by”, it looked like more of a threat to back off than a greeting, but I’m no expert in bird behaviour.

 

[DigitalSkyPilot]

I saw it as a warning.

 

[the dude killz]

Is this an assault or some sort of greeting?

That was clearly an attack

 

[LEN7225]

Was flying a P4P near my home today when I had a too close encounter with a bald eagle. I have over 80 hours in flying Phantoms and a Mavic and never had a run in with any type of bird before.

I have spotted eagles flying near my father's cottage, but have no interest in disturbing wildlife, and always give them a wide birth.

I caught a flash coming from below and to my right and snapped a quick picture, put it in sport mode and accelerated out of the area, he chased me a long way and almost down to ground level. There is a wooded area nearby, and possibly a nest I was not aware of - another area to stay away from.

Here is the picture I took as I first saw the eagle coming. He obviously was not happy with the P4P.View attachment 98054Great shot