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Evaluation of disturbance effect on geese caused by an approaching unmanned aerial vehicle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2019

MADS BECH-HANSEN Open the ORCID record for MADS BECH-HANSEN [Opens in a new window] ,
RUNE M. KALLEHAUGE ,
JANNIK M. S. LAURITZEN ,
MATHIAS H. SØRENSEN ,
BJARKE LAUBEK ,
LASSE F. JENSEN ,
CINO PERTOLDI  and
DAN BRUHN
MADS BECH-HANSEN*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, Denmark.
RUNE M. KALLEHAUGE
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, Denmark.
JANNIK M. S. LAURITZEN
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, Denmark.
MATHIAS H. SØRENSEN
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, Denmark.
BJARKE LAUBEK
Affiliation:
Vattenfall Renewable Wind DK A/S, Jupitervej 6 – 2nd floor, DK-6000Kolding, Denmark.
LASSE F. JENSEN
Affiliation:
Vattenfall Renewable Wind DK A/S, Jupitervej 6 – 2nd floor, DK-6000Kolding, Denmark.
CINO PERTOLDI
Affiliation:
Aalborg Zoo, Molleparkvej 63, DK-9000Aalborg, Denmark.
DAN BRUHN
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, Denmark.
*
*Author for correspondence; e-mail: madsbechhansen@gmail.com
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Summary

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are useful tools in ornithological studies. Importantly, though, UAV-caused disturbance has been noted to vary among species. This study evaluated guidelines for UAVs as a tool for researching geese. Twenty-four flocks of foraging geese were approached at an altitude of 50–100 m with a quadcopter UAV and disturbance effects were analysed across different horizontal distances between the UAV and the flocks. Geese were increasingly disturbed when approached by a UAV, with birds showing increased vigilance behaviour within approximately 300 m. Increasing UAV flight altitude as well as increasing take-off distance from the flocks both decreased the risk of bird flocks flushing. In conclusion, when monitoring geese using UAVs, flight altitudes of 100 m and take-off distances of ideally ∼500 m are recommended, to minimise initial disturbance and reducing the risk of birds flushing.

Type
Short Communication
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 169 - 175
Copyright
© BirdLife International, 2019

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Footnotes

#

Both authors contributed equally

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