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Wouldn’t the drones flying put it into a whole different threat category from humans/dogs/bikes? Birds are probably smart enough to realize hikers cannot threat

Wouldn’t the drones flying put it into a whole different threat category from humans/dogs/bikes? Birds are probably smart enough to realize hikers cannot threaten them or their eggs if they are up in a tree, but a large, fast flying object is pretty much game over for them and their eggs unless they abandon the area entirely. Your theory that dogs are the main cause just doesn’t make sense to me, birds can’t be so dumb that they leave their eggs to rot because a dog is walking around below them, why even bother evolving flight and nesting in trees?

prawn 5y ago
Coastal birds like these are laying their eggs openly on the sand. You can see a picture here: https://bit.ly/3gcjZbY https://bit.ly/3gcjZbY A dog off-leash would rip through and harass ever bird in the vicinity as well as damage any egg they wanted to. The "island" looks like it's in a shallow swamp that a dog could run across easily enough, though someone mentioned the area is usually fenced. Here's a video of me flying a drone slowly over a group of crested terns sitting on rocks (birds similar to those in the story). I am maybe six feet above them. The only time they really moved was when a large wave hit the rocks and they left and returned when it subsided. There are a few dozen birds under the drone, while others are returning after the wave washed through - you can see they are not particularly bothered by it. (Obviously a drone crashing into the ground would spook them more.) https://bit.ly/2T4t5PT https://bit.ly/2T4t5PT