New York City’s beach birds appear to be getting completely fed up with the recent deployment of a fleet of police drones encroaching on their territory. An Associated Press report described multiple “swarming” incidents in which angry shorebirds dive-bombed flying robots in an attempt to drive them from their homes.
Earlier this year, the New York Police Department made the questionable decision to begin deploying drones on the city’s beaches. The purpose is to allow them to search for sharks (to warn beachgoers and avoid being attacked by sharks) jawtypes of situations) and can also help swimmers who may be in trouble and who are out of reach of local lifeguards. Apparently the plan is for the robot to fly over drowning swimmers and place flotation devices on their heads.
While the drones have so far saved zero lives, they have severely angered local birdlife, which have been seen numerous times “swarming” and dive-bombing the flying robots. The Associated Press quoted several wildlife scholars and professionals saying most of them seemed to believe drones had some kind of adverse impact on beach birds. Experts say birds may view robots as invasive species, posing a threat to their offspring.
Veronica Welsh, a wildlife professional with the city’s parks department, told the outlet the birds were “very annoyed with the drones.” “They’ll fly at it, they’ll swoop at it, they’ll make noises … They think they’re protecting their chicks from predators. “
The article also quoted a professor of wildlife biology at McGill University, surprisingly named David Bird. Ornithology professor Byrd told us that the birds in question (technically called American Oystercatchers) may also have a “stress response” triggered by the flying robots, which he said could cause them to “flee the beach and abandon their eggs.” , like thousands of graceful terns A recent drone crash In San Diego.
Byrd said the native oystercatchers, which nest primarily on Rockaway Beach, are “highly endangered.”
Gizmodo reached out to the NYPD for more information about its drone program but did not immediately receive a response.
Updated July 12 at 3:46 pm ET: We have updated this article to reflect the fact that the birds in this story are not actually seagulls. We regret this mistake, but I’m not an ornithologist either.
