Good morning from the Ebro Delta (Catalonia)
low-altitude flights with aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, drones ...) is potentially a very negative activity for the bird colonies (flamingos,
herons, terns, gulls ...) and, unfortunately, they are a growing threat danger in the Ebro delta.
As commented Christophe, the first nesting attempt Flamingo in the Ebro Delta (1992) failed because the disturbance of a seaplane flying at low
altitude.
In Spain there is a regulation of airspace including restricted and prohibited areas for security (military zones, nuclear power stations ...)
and environmental reasons (protected areas, areas of bird concentration in migration ...). You can consult these regulations (in Spanish and English) in the attached document. Each of these areas has an associated minimum flight altitude (often difficult to
measure from the ground). Similarly, there is a mechanism for periodic changes of these regulations (for example, in the Ebro delta we are trying to raise the minimum height of 700 to 3500 feet).
On the other hand, many censuses of birds (flamingos, gulls, herons) in the Ebro Delta are conducted by aerial photography with aircraft or helicopter.
Our experience in numerous flights (1-2 flights per year since 2000) indicates that there are no significant disturbances in the colonies at an altitude of 350-400 meters.
Best wishes (and excuse me for my English),
Antoni Curcó Masip
Àrea de Protecció i Recerca
Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebre