This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This summer, Norwegian news has reported (in Norwegian) multiple stories about Lofoten residents who shot at drones out of sheer frustration. But not everyone exposed to approaching drones has a gun with which to defend themselves.
"There have been reports of numerous examples of birds of prey that attack drones when they feel threatened. When we are out collecting data, we often observe that the drones quickly attract a lot of attention from the birdlife in the surrounding area," says Ken Hellerud, head engineer and doctoral student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik. It's also well documented that drones can drive nesting birds away from their nests.
Consequently, there is little doubt that flying drones can be a potential source of wildlife disturbance, the researcher believes. However, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) reports that drone use allows scientists to survey seabirds with far less disturbance than before. This is possible because NINA's drone pilots have in-depth knowledge of the wildlife in the areas where they fly and a solid understanding of the species' behavior.
"We will be able to create tools with our framework that give drone pilots a lot of this knowledge in real time," Hellerud says. Today, drones are routinely used in everything from agriculture and forest management to infrastructure inspections. In addition, about 457,000 Norwegians own one or more drones.
"These drone uses have given us good guidelines for avoiding human and material damage. But how best to safeguard 'ecological safety' is still unclear," Hellerud says. It is true that flying drones is prohibited in many protected areas.
Outside protected areas, the guidelines state that you should "ensure that drone flying does not cause disturbances to birds or wildlife in the area you are flying." But how this is ensured in practice is far from clear. "A lot of vulnerable ecosystems are currently protected from drones through static and somewhat arbitrary safety zones. But the extent to which you disturb the environment as a drone pilot actually depends on everything from what kind of drone you are flying to which species are in the area and how they react to your flight pattern," Hellerud says.
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