Environmental conditions, UAS treatment details, R script, and Turkey Vulture response data to two UAS angles of approach

This data publication includes raw data from 35 unoccupied aircraft system (UAS) field trials at the Erie County Landfill in Milian, Ohio. Data were collected 05 July 2022 - 10 August 2022 and include measurements of weather, ambient light conditions, sound emitted by the UAS during surrogate trials, flight data related to the UAS treatments, bird counts from before and after trials, and focal Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) response data. We also included data from the Federal Aviation Administration's Wildlife Strike Database for all Turkey Vulture strikes with aircraft between 2009 and 2022 that occurred at ≤ 3 meters above ground level (AGL, recorded as HEIGHT as feet above ground level in the Wildlife Strike Database) to provide realistic encounter scenarios in the airport environment. Also, for scenario purposes, we include survey data (i.e., continual monitoring and wildlife hazard assessments) from the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services Airport Wildlife Hazard Program from over 110 airports for the year 2021. We only included survey data on Turkey Vultures engaged in non-flying activities in our scenarios.
The purpose of this study was to understand Turkey Vulture response to two UAS angles of approach (i.e., stoop and same-level). These data can help inform the use of UAS operations for dispersing Turkey Vultures away from aircraft to improve aviation safety.
For more information about this study and these data, see Pfeiffer et al. (2025).