[HN Gopher] Oystercatchers are waging war on NYC's beach drones
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Oystercatchers are waging war on NYC's beach drones
Author : mikece
Score : 45 points
Date : 2024-07-12 19:38 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (apnews.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (apnews.com)
| h2odragon wrote:
| don't think I have ever met a calm, rational, reasonable seagull.
| klyrs wrote:
| Next time, use your towel.
| rkagerer wrote:
| But they aren't seagulls, they're endangered American
| oystercatchers.
| bwestergard wrote:
| Right, not gulls at all. Also, "seagull" is not an
| ornithologically useful term.
| peanut_worm wrote:
| Yeah I have heard lots of birders say that but its just a
| synonym for "gull", I don't see why its bad. They mostly live
| by the sea, seems fitting to me.
| dang wrote:
| Ok. we've replaced seagulls with oystercatchers in the title
| above. Thanks!
| averageRoyalty wrote:
| I'm glad it's more accurate, but now I'm disappointed. The
| title has me picturing people in wetsuits with harpoons
| rising from the water and spearing drones out of the sky!
| peanut_worm wrote:
| Oystercatchers aren't endangered, they are pretty common. You
| can find them on any beach on the east coast pretty much.
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| Updated: They're not actually seagulls. They're oystercatchers.
|
| > We have updated this post to reflect the fact that the birds in
| this story are not, in fact, seagulls. We regret the error, but
| also I am not an ornithologist, people.
| nicwolff wrote:
| Link to actual AP article instead of Gizmodo ad-bait:
|
| https://apnews.com/article/new-york-drones-shorebirds-beach-...
|
| and, nominative determinism fans, don't miss "said David Bird, a
| professor of wildlife biology at McGill University"
| dang wrote:
| Thanks! Url changed from https://gizmodo.com/very-annoyed-
| seagulls-are-waging-war-on-....
| ilamont wrote:
| Seagulls are underrated IMHO:
|
| * Very good at soaring, expending little energy compared to ducks
| and other waterbirds.
|
| * Can take off near vertically from water or land, without
| requiring a long runway like cormorants.
|
| * Highly intelligent including tool use
| (https://susancunninghambooks.com/blog/2018/8/23/the-secret-l...)
|
| * They will eat almost anything and will employ different
| techniques from hunting for live prey to opportunistic filching
| of dead fish and other animals' food.
|
| * They have an enourmous range and are very adaptable. One South
| American species nests in a waterless desert and brings water and
| food from the ocean to its young, a distance of up to 100km.
| (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331083/)
|
| * Lifespan of many decades
| JohnMakin wrote:
| Anecdotally, I'm pretty sure they keep a long memory and can
| recognize people like corvids are known to do - I used to work
| near the beach, and a particular seagull would fly up to me,
| and only me, for a period of about 2 years because I would give
| him food scraps. Never did it for any of my other coworkers.
| Was always amazed by that.
| Dunati wrote:
| One of my co-workers gave a seagull a tortilla one day (out
| the 5th floor window), and it ended up being our unofficial
| office mascot for years.
| bondarchuk wrote:
| I gave a seagull some snack one day and next thing I knew
| there were a 100 swarming about me, would not recommend.
| nashashmi wrote:
| they are not seagulls. Link has an update at the end. AP news
| says they are American oystercatchers
| peanut_worm wrote:
| Most people seem surprised to learn they live for 30+ years
|
| I saw a Kittiwake gull in Florida once and then the same year
| visited their nesting grounds in Iceland. I can't believe such
| a tiny little bird can fly that far and survive. That being
| said the one in Florida was probably lost lol
| kwhitefoot wrote:
| I hope the birds win.
| jimnotgym wrote:
| Could one train birds to be an anti drone defence, perhaps?
| averageRoyalty wrote:
| > the city struggles to hire lifeguards to staff its beaches
|
| They don't go into detail, but surely a fleet of drones with life
| raft deployment capability is a lot more expensive than just
| hiring more lifeguards?
|
| I suspect if they put the drone budget into lifeguard pay, they'd
| find quickly they no longer have a problem recruiting.
| throwup238 wrote:
| Where are they going to find them? Ocean lifeguarding isn't an
| easy certification that any kid can do out of high school like
| the Red Cross pool lifeguard stuff.
|
| Most of the people who have it live on the West coast or down
| south in Florida, where most of the training programs are. Why
| would they move up to NYC where the weather sucks, they can
| only work half the year, and the cost of living is through the
| roof?
| freitzkriesler2 wrote:
| I hate quadcopter drones like you wouldn't believe. They're so
| annoying and invasive. I'm glad the birds are pushing back at
| least.
| peanut_worm wrote:
| Drones are one of the worst things to happen to birdwatching
| blackeyeblitzar wrote:
| I cannot stand it when people bring drones to what are supposed
| to be quiet, natural spaces. I see people flying them in parks
| all the time now. That buzz is very annoying on its own. But I
| also just do not like the idea that someone may be spying on me
| or members of my family. It just feels extra predatory when there
| are children under their cameras.
|
| I also don't get why there is no enforcement, although I am
| guessing it comes down to mundane things like the politics of
| funding. I recently saw someone flying a drone at a ferry
| terminal. There are several signs saying that flying drones in
| the area is illegal per federal law (which was news to me). But
| it doesn't matter when there is no one to enforce these laws -
| they might as well not exist. And as a private citizen, I always
| find it awkward to call people out on anything - whether it is a
| drone, or an off-leash dog, or whatever. Forget the awkwardness,
| some people can be aggressive. I want to be able to rely on
| public officers to enforce the law.
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