Chris Eberly, executive director
of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership discuses the effects drones have
on nesting eagles and other species.
Eagles and drones are not friends
in flight, the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership warns after a recent
Pasadena incident.
After a drone pilot was reported
to police for bringing his drone close to an eagle and causing another to leave
its nest, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maryland Natural Resources
police got involved.
Kelly Hunt, a volunteer eagle
nest monitor for the partnership, said she was checking on a nest this month
next to Fort Smallwood Elementary School when she saw a man send his drone up
to the nest.
As the drone approached the nest,
the female flew away and a male — presumably the father — flew up to the drone
for a few seconds before flying past it.
A bald eagle was filmed swimming
Monday evening at the community beach in Epping Forest. Eagles can't fly
when their feathers get soaked from being in the water too long.
Hunt warned the man he was
disturbing the eagles and they could injure themselves if they attacked the
remote-controlled copter. She said he refused to fly his drone away from the
nest, saying he was within his Federal Aviation Administration rights.
“I understand how cool it is and
the temptation to view what’s going on inside the nest, but not to the
detriment of the eagles,” Hunt said.
