back to article Three thousand sea birds abandon nests amid nature reserve drone crash hullabaloo

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. 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 …

  1. Chris G

    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.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Zarno
      Black Helicopters

      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.

    3. gandalfcn Silver badge

      As with most things, and then the culprits bleat about their "god given rights".

      Then there are those at the other extreme who claim these ar$#holes are typical rather than the exception.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The RSPB is so widely disliked in Scotland that I can see drones becoming popular as a way of keeping/driving birds away.

    1. JDPower666
      Facepalm

      The RSPB is disliked so you want to terrorise birds? I'm sure that's somehow logical in your head.

    2. gandalfcn Silver badge

      Really? Who told you that? One of the people who poison raptors or similar? You come across like those who claim no-ne likes the Queen. A lot don't but most do. I consider Royalty an anachronism, but then I look at the USA and Trump.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Brilliant, seagulls and pigeons are all vermin !

    4. agurney

      A sparrowhawk recently caught itself in netting in our garden. We called the RSPB for advice and/or help, but they didn't want to know and suggested we contact the SSPCA.

      The RSPB seem to be more interested in land preservation and pushing their agenda in the countryside.

      [btw, the SSPCA were helpful and the hawk was released unharmed, much to the chagrin of the local song birds]

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Watchkeeper?

    I didn't realise the British Army were flying them in California.

  4. Eclectic Man Silver badge
    Unhappy

    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.

    1. gandalfcn Silver badge

      They may have considered it a threat whilst flying. A raptor does that.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    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.

    1. A.P. Veening Silver badge

      Re: Sigh

      3000 Birds equals 1500 nests. And judging by the numbers in the article, there was about one egg per nest.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sigh

      Okay, you got me on the egg count. If the perp also has the brains to work that out then ... they still deserve 6000 hours as they definitely should have known better. ;-)

  6. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    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?

    1. gandalfcn Silver badge

      Re: Why do they need a warrant?

      This is where the freedom crap comes in - people are free to do anything they want, with no redress. Or that os what certain parts of the world have come to. Democracy gone tsup.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Why do they need a warrant?

        "people are free to do anything they want, with no redress."

        No, it's application of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, as extended through modern methods of communications. In a nutshell, the .gov can't read my diary (even an electronic one) without either my expressed authorization, or a warrant issued by the appropriate court.

        Once that warrant is executed, the perp will be fingered and have his time in court.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Why do they need a warrant?

          Even if it's lost or abandoned on Federal property? Surely their "duty of care" would require them to try to identify the owner?

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Why do they need a warrant?

            Who determins it is lost or abandoned, as opposed to intentionally placed temporarily?

            To answer my own question, that would be a Judge. Thus the warrant.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: Why do they need a warrant?

      Things like this found on Public Land are considered "private property" until declared otherwise by a court of law. These same rules allow you to park your car in the Mojave and wander off on a hike for two or three days without somebody "salvaging" your car. The search warrant requirement is the same one that allows you to carry around nekkid pictures of your .sig-other on your camera with no fear that the cops will insist on looking at them.

      Another example: That stainless steel pillar that was found in Utah was left alone by the authorities because it was private property ... EVEN THOUGH the folks who placed it would have been denied a permit, had they applied for one, and probably would have been arrested had they been caught installing it. Likewise, the twats who removed it are technically guilty of theft if they didn't have the permission of the owner to remove it.

  7. Adrian 4

    aircraft aren't only at airports

    This, yesterday :

    https://twitter.com/GNairambulance/status/1401856541481914373

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good news for America, you won't be getting pasties ripped out of your hands by passing seagulls for a while, bloody vermin !

    1. A.P. Veening Silver badge

      Completely different species of bird.

    2. Chris G

      The birds that were scared off were Elegant Terns, a fairly shy bird that mostly only occurs on the West coast of the Americas.

      Nothing like the shite hawks that steal chips and pasties in resorts around the world.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Hmm... I think "pasties" means something different to Americans. And having them ripped off invokes a rather different dynamic.

      1. jake Silver badge

        From personal observation, many people on both sides of the pond don't know the difference between pasties and a pasty ...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What kind of drone?

    Do they mean military UAV, or airborne toy?

    I think it must be the former, because birds are very tolerant of the presence of flying models. I used to belong to a model flying club that used agricultural set-aside land, and it was found that there was a very healthy bird population around the flying field.

    1. MiguelC Silver badge

      Re: What kind of drone?

      As per the article, birds used to human activities react much less to drones buzzing around, unlike birds with little to no human contact, as was the case. So even a flying toy (and there are pretty large ones) could scare them away from their nests

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