Tue, Jan 04, 2022
Best Practices for Wildlife Photography: Adequate Distance and space
The yearly tradition of unmanned aviators has been quiet this year, in a hobby that often sees swathes of excited new drone owners exploring the legal limits of their fresh new toys. It seems that the industry has come a long way towards educating buyers on best practices, however, with fewer incidents involving drones that make nationwide headlines.
One wildlife research specialist stepped in this year, however, stressing not just regulations, but best practices. For users regarding wildlife following a wildlife group's use of unmanned recording equipment a little too close to the critters they protect.
The Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust issued a reminder to fellow wildlife enthusiasts after its founder Sue Sayer witnessed a group of resting seals sprint underwater, frightened by the rapid appearance of a drone. While understanding of the interest felt towards critters, she reminds operators that many animals boast superior senses to humans and often experience serious stress response from what seems reminiscent to a fast moving, shrieking aerial predator. She stresses a simple rule for non-interventionist appreciation of creatures: 100 meters distance, and from humans, 50 for simplicity's sake. UK law differs from some other countries, requiring drones to stay at least 150m away from residential, recreational, commercial, and industrial areas.
While those rules may seem too restricting to operators of other nationalities, local residents note that there are "plenty of approved fields and zones ideal for drone flight".
Some note that the applicable UK drone code doesn't contain hard rules, instead stating "do not fly where you'll disturb or endanger animals and wildlife", which will probably cause headaches among those who disagree as to what the threshold of 'disturb' is. For those acclimating to operation in the United Kingdom, an operator legislation and short flyer ID test are necessary to start, but that introduction saves much pain later on by preventing the pilot from running afoul of the law.
More News
Option Approach An approach requested and conducted by a pilot which will result in either a touch-and-go, missed approach, low approach, stop-and-go, or full stop landing. Pilots >[...]
"Emirates is already the world's largest Boeing 777 operator, and we are expanding our commitment to the program today with additional orders for 65 Boeing 777-9s. This is a long-t>[...]
(Pilot) Reported That There Was A Sudden And Violent Vibration Throughout The Airplane That Lasted Several Seconds Analysis: The pilot was returning to his home airport at an altit>[...]
“This recognition was evident during the TBMOPA Annual Convention, where owners and operators clearly expressed their satisfaction with our focus on customer service, and enc>[...]
Overhead Maneuver A series of predetermined maneuvers prescribed for aircraft (often in formation) for entry into the visual flight rules (VFR) traffic pattern and to proceed to a >[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.19.25): Option Approach
See All