I loved the theme for the smap contest this week. I finally got my first wildlife photos from my Drone. This was one of the main reasons I wanted a drone with good zoom capability. To combine my love of tech and flying with my love of wildlife photography.
I'm not sure if videos are allowed for the contest, if so then I submit this video link with some great action video of the Seagulls from my recent trip/flight to Lake Carmi, Vermont. If videos not allowed, then I suppose I submit the first picture in the set.
I could barely see the island from the far shoreline, and didn't realize there were birds on it until I got closer. That's where the zoom came in handy. I was able to hover and zoom in quite close without disturbing them, even with the wind blowing pretty strong that day (check out the flag whipping).
Here's a few of the stills.
Enjoy these?
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Wow! Man
The the is expectacullar. The video is mind blowing. Watching birds flying over water always pacifies me.
Thanks for sharing the video also.
Thanks for viewing and the kind words!
I see that the seagulls are very fond of this island.
Yes they were. It was my first time to this area, and I was excited to see them there. Looks like they've made quite a mess of that small dock platform!
What a popular wee island!
This is cool, I like the idea of a drone for wildlife photography.
They certainly seem to like it there! I suppose they are not bothered much. It's really handy to get places I can't normally get to or reach. Not to mention the unusual perspectives.
Yes seems a really handy piece of kit!
This is sooo awesome to zoom in and not to disturb the birds. I love the video very much, but I am afraid it cannot be used as an entry. But the the pics are great and valid. So, you are in.
I must say that I knew next to nothing about the drones. Your drone seems excellent and so crisp the footage is. Amazing how stable it is in the wind.
Thank you again for your entry! I really enjoy it very much.
Hello there, thanks for the comments. No worries about the contest, I'm here for the fun and exchange of pics. I do always enjoy the posts and extra visibility in the summaries though. Hoping to get our drone membership over a hundred this month, just need 6 more!
Count me in your community, I will join in a sec.
Yay! Thank you and welcome aboard! 5 more to go!
Wow fabulous, see them through the drone is great, there are many, thanks for these good images from the heights.
Thanks for viewing and the kind comments. It's a pleasure to share them!
Hi Kris
Very cool for wildlife photography and I'm sure we'll see loads of great shots and video from it to come.
I couldn't help but feel that there was voice over of "mine, mine, mine" missing though. I think I've watched Finding Nemo too many times, it's stuck in my head whenever I see gulls 🤣
How silent are the drones on average? I know that birds have quite keen hearing, they tend to fly off feeders at the sound of a camera shutter, do they react to the drone in a similar way or are they just not that worried?
The noise level varies a lot depending on the size of the drone, number and type of propellers, type of motors, etc. This one is a Mavic 3, with add-on "stealth" propellors that don't actually quiet it much, but change the pitch very noticeably to a duller lower pitch sound that is less intrusive.
For human ears, even out here in the quiet countryside, the noise is barely noticeable 100 feet away, and gone at about 200 feet. For this video, I had started higher, then slowly lowered the drone for a closer shot (about 50 feet up). As you can see, it did startle a few of them (definitely less than the kayakers do!) enough to fly up, but circle right back. I was careful not to intrude on them any closer, and then used the zoom lens in and out for the closer shots.
One does have to be careful around birds especially around predators, which will often attack the drones. The best tactic if attacked is to fly straight up, (birds can't do that), then angle away and out then lower altitude once safe.
Oh ok that makes sense with the different types of propellers, I suppose you'll never get it 100% quiet and animals can hear so much more than we do.
I didn't even think about a drone being mobbed by birds, that must be quite a thing to experience, but having an exit strategy like yours which seems pretty simple is a good tool to keep in the toolbox incase. Not many people have drones on this side, I see them occasionally but not often.
Looking forward to the next adventures you have 😁