Data for the analysis of antipredator responses of blackbird flocks toward different drone platforms used as hazing tools in sunflower fields

We evaluated the behavioral responses of mixed blackbird flocks, dominated by red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), to the initial approach and 2-minutes of hazing by three drone platforms: a predator model, a fixed-wing model resembling an airplane, and a multirotor. We conducted this experiment in commercial sunflower fields in North Dakota, USA from September to October 2017. We approached each blackbird flock with one platform, including one direct flight approach and a second approach followed by a 120 second hazing period. This data publication includes the results of all 60 trials. Data include measurements such as wind and temperature at time of trial, ambient light intensity, size of sunflower field, size of blackbird flock, distance between the drone and blackbird flock when 50% of flock took flight, whether or not the entire flock left the field due to drone hazing, etc. We also included the R code used to analyze these data.
The study was designed to establish the ability of different drone platforms to elicit flight behavior and field abandonment of blackbird flocks to inform the importance of drone shape for hazing to protect agricultural resources.
For more information about this study and these data, see Egan et al. (2023). These data were published on 06/23/2023. On 03/01/2024, the metadata was updated to include more details for the recently published article.