Three thousand sea birds abandon nests amid nature reserve drone crash hullabaloo
- Reference: 1623087247
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/07/drones_blamed_for_bird_disaster/
- Source link:
According to wildlife experts at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy (not to be confused with the SpaceX launch site), the incident is believed to be one of the worst of its kind, with around 1,500 unhatched eggs being destroyed.
The birds involved were a colony of elegant terns, a species found along the Pacific coasts of Mexico and the southern US.
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"A couple of weeks ago, thousands of elegant terns were lost when 2 drones crashed by Tern Island," the organisation noted in a [2]Twitter post last week. "It is believed that the nesting terns left the eggs they were incubating in a response to the threat that the drones posed. This has never happened at such a large scale at the reserve."
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According to local reports, the disruption to the birds' nesting habits was made worse when efforts to retrieve the drones caused further panic.
Interviewed on ABC7 news, Melissa Loebl, environmental scientist and reserve manager, [5]told TV reporters : "In my career, I have never seen such devastation."
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[7]According to the New York Times , the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has retrieved one of the downed drones and is seeking a warrant to allow it to be examined, in the hope of identifying its owner.
[8]Flying dildo poses a slap in the face for serious political debate
[9]On a dusty red planet almost 290 million km away... NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flies
[10]No egrets: Ardent twitchers fined for breaking lockdown after bloke spots northern mockingbird in his garden
[11]A few reasons why cops haven't immediately shot down London Gatwick airport drone menace
Last year, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in Scotland warned that wintering water birds such as geese, swans and wading birds can easily be disturbed by drones.
In a series of experiments [12]researchers flew drones towards flocks of birds in different habitats to observe their behaviour and see how they reacted to different threats.
The findings seemed to suggest that birds familiar with human activity were less likely to respond to being buzzed by drones.
Lead author David Jarrett said: "While we expected that the drone would cause large flocks to flush, we were surprised that birds hardly seemed to respond to the drone at all at those inland lochs where there was already lots of human activity taking place. Hopefully, this research can be used to help inform guidance and regulations on drone use in proximity to wild birds."
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Last year, Vulture Central reported how [14]a US Government drone mapping the shoreline of Lake Michigan was downed by an eagle seemingly unhappy at the digital intrusion. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YL6XPFIr8PMQnP1P23gRnwAAAAM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://twitter.com/BolsaChicaCon/status/1400543669422276608?s=20
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YL6XPFIr8PMQnP1P23gRnwAAAAM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://abc7.com/eggs-abandoned-illegal-drones-bolsa-chica-ecological-reserve/10741027/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YL6XPFIr8PMQnP1P23gRnwAAAAM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/us/elegant-tern-eggs-drone-crash-california.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/04/flying_dildo_poses_a_slap/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/19/perseverance_computing_feature/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/16/birdwatcher_lockdown_fines/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2018/12/20/gatwick_drone_non_shootdown_reasons/
[12] https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/behavioural-responses-non-breeding-waterbirds-drone
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YL6XPFIr8PMQnP1P23gRnwAAAAM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/14/michigan_drone_killer_eagle/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
A friend and I had to shut down a business startup that was working on UAV software/hardware for VTOL because the drone/UAV licensing requirements for a business, and the insurance required, went well outside what a two man team could afford.
We couldn't do the old "register it to one partner" thing because then that person would be required to have all the liability/insurance, and be present at every flight. To say nothing of having multiple prototypes eventually...
As always, it's the ones that try be safe, stay inside the 400 foot flight ceiling, obey the line of sight requirements, and stick to the letter of it all that will get hit.
ID-10-T_s will still get their cheap thrills racing in restricted airspace, clipping powerlines, and getting that awesome "follow me" video while unicycling backwards down a highway.
Icon for the octoquad test mule that didn't fly much.
The RSPB is so widely disliked in Scotland that I can see drones becoming popular as a way of keeping/driving birds away.
Watchkeeper?
I didn't realise the British Army were flying them in California.
One of the problems may be people trying to get images as good as those seen on David Attenborough's wildlife programmes, but without the high grade equipment the BBC uses (extreme telephoto lenses etc.) or the skill and experience of how not to disturb wildlife.
My guess is that the drone was ok-ish while flying, but when it crashed the birds considered it to be a threat like a predator and believed their nesting sites to be vulnerable. And the second one will just have reinforced the message.
Very sad that so many eggs have been abandoned / destroyed.
Sigh
> Two drone crashes at a nature reserve in Orange County, California, are being blamed for a colony of some 3,000 sea birds abandoning their nests.
3000 nests, assume two eggs per nest, so a punishment of about 6,000 hours community service should be about right.
Why do they need a warrant?
"the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has retrieved one of the downed drones and is seeking a warrant to allow it to be examined, in the hope of identifying its owner."
Surely if it's lost or abandoned property found on California Department of Fish and Wildlife land, then the Department would be within in it's rights to try to identify the rightful owner?
It looks as though the idiots are going to make things harder for the responsible drone fliers.
I can see something like registration on purchase ans stronger licencing on the horizon.