Not entirely true. At 200 meters in altitude, many quad-copters under 5 kilograms are pretty much inaudible. With a telephoto lens, and 40 minuets of flight ti

Not entirely true. At 200 meters in altitude, many quad-copters under 5 kilograms are pretty much inaudible. With a telephoto lens, and 40 minuets of flight time inbound, 15 minutes of loitering, and 40 minutes of return flight, you could probably begin to catalog substantial data, without being invasive. You wouldn't be able to ingress beyond tree canopy, but quad-copter drones aren't the greatest at negotiating tree cover to begin with. You'd only be able to capture the beaches. Sticking to the beaches, and remaining above a certain altitude, the sound of the ocean would probably cover up much of the actual propeller and motor noise that reaches the ground. This would be a very expensive operation, given the remote destination. Nothing an individual could accomplish. But it's a concept within reach, using off-the-shelve consumer technology, if you've got the budget, and the logistical support to pull it off.