<
https://theconversation.com/drones-are-disturbing-critically-endangered-shorebirds-in-moreton-bay-creating-a-domino-effect-209391>
"Drones are increasingly swarming our skies, capturing images, managing crops
and soon, delivering packages. But what do the birds make of this invasion of
their territory?
With strict animal ethics approval, we flew drones towards flocks of birds in
Queensland’s Moreton Bay. We found many species were not disturbed, provided
the drone was small and flew above 60m.
The exception was the critically endangered eastern curlew, which became
alarmed and flew away – even when a tiny drone approached at the maximum legal
altitude of 120m. But when the eastern curlew took flight, other nearby species
were often startled, creating a domino effect that eventually caused the whole
flock to take flight.
Drone disturbance can interrupt birds as they rest or feed. It can even cause
them to avoid some locations altogether. If birds are consistently interrupted
or scared away from their preferred habitats, they may find it difficult to eat
and rest enough to survive and reproduce. This is particularly concerning for
species such as the eastern curlew, which migrate thousands of kilometres to
breed."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
