DENVER – A hawk knocked a police drone out of the sky near Denver, demonstrating why built in Drone First Responder safety systems are so valuable.
According to the Arvada Police Department in Colorado, a Drone First Responder aircraft was launched to assist officers checking out a condemned shed. While in the air, a red-tailed hawk, on of the most common birds of prey in the state, swooped in and knocked the drone out of the sky.
An emergency parachute was automatically deployed allowing the drone to drift safely into a nearby tree rather than crashing to the ground. The hawk flew away unharmed, but the drone did see some light damage. Arvada Fire assisted the officers in retrieving the drone which needed only a new parachute and some new propellers.
Red-Tailed Hawks in Colorado
Red-tailed hawks are by far the most common hawks in Colorado and the United States overall. They thrive in open country, using their broad wings to soar on thermals while scanning for prairie dogs, rabbits and other small mammals. Their reddish tail feathers, visible in adults during flight, make them one of the easier hawks to identify for hikers and birdwatchers. Colorado’s mix of grasslands, canyons and forest edges gives them ideal hunting habitat year round. Many pairs nest on cliff ledges or tall trees, often returning to the same territory each season.
The birds frequently use their large, sharp talons to defend their nests or territories, frequently chasing off other hawks, eagles, owls, and, as we see here, drones. This is certainly not the first case of a red-tailed hawk attacking a drone, and it likely won’t be the last.