Remember the tragic story of an entire generation of elegant terns being wiped out in California when over 1,500 eggs were abandoned by terrified parents fleeing invasive drones? Lesson learned: Officials in Oregon are now working hard to prevent something similar from occurring in their wildlife reserves.
Island-flying drones spook nesting birds from eggs
Authorities with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Oregon say the number of drone flights over state parks and reserves has continued multiplying over time, occasionally with disturbing results. Chief among those are nesting birds in the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge being frightened off by uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) passing near or over them. Unlike the adult terns in California – which permanently abandoned their eggs when a pair of drones crashed among them – spooked birds on Oregon’s islands return to their nests once the threat is gone. The problem, officials say, is that brief absence is…
