- Imagine watching the thing that’s supposed to save you from drowning getting torn apart by angry birds.
Oh no! You’re out swimming on a Long Island beach when a leg cramp renders you helpless in the water.
Luckily, help is on the way. In slow-motion, clad in a red swimsuit as suspenseful music plays in the background, a savior comes running to your aid.
Did we say running? We meant flying, since your rescuer is not a hunky or curvy lifeguard from Baywatch, but a drone.
And then the thing gets swarmed by angry birds.
That’s the situation currently on several New York City beaches. NYC has invested in aerial drones to help monitor swimmer safety, but all they’ve really managed to do is piss off the local shorebird population.
And we mean that in general. The drones are equipped with inflatable rafts they can deploy and drop into the water, but they haven’t actually done anything to rescue anybody yet.
But hey, they spotted a shark recently. At least they have something going for them.
A Good Idea (in Theory)
The drones in question are part of NYC’s latest effort to keep its beaches safe for sunbathers and swimmers. The city is struggling to hire enough flesh-and-blood lifeguards to keep an eye on beachgoers.
As such, Mayor Eric Adams — known to love a good drone — approved a new plan. Enter the Baywatch drones, which took flight for the first time in May.
The flying devices are partially collapsible and can stretch to be up to three feet long. They have enough power to haul an inflatable life raft into the air.
On paper, the drones do sound like a good idea. They’re equipped with cameras, allowing the operator to monitor a much larger swathe of the beach than a regular lifeguard.
If the operator spots a person in trouble, they would fly the drone over and deploy the life raft. The flotation device would fall next to the person and they could climb onto it, or at least hold on until someone can haul them out of the water.
In addition, while looking for drowning people, the drones’ cameras also enable the operator to keep an eye on other threats. Those could include sharks, fires, groups of rowdy teens, and whatever else might cause trouble on a beach.
The Wrath of Angry Parents
However, the NYC beach drones have earned the ire of an unexpected enemy. The local shorebirds absolutely hate the drones’ flying, buzzing guts.
The American oystercatchers living around the beaches have a special, rage-filled place in their hearts for the machines.
Oystercatchers, famous for their bright orange beaks, are very territorial birds. They will suffer no one to approach their egg-filled nest — and it’s currently oystercatcher nesting season.
So, the birds have started attacking the drones on sight.
“They will fly at it, they’ll swoop at it, they’ll be vocalizing,” Veronica Welsh, a wildlife coordinator at NYC Parks Department, told the Associated Press.
“They think they’re defending their chicks from a predator.”
As far as we could find out, the birds haven’t yet managed to break any drones, nor have the drones hurt the birds. There have been close calls.
Officials hope that the oystercatchers will gradually realize the drones don’t actually threaten their nests and will leave them be. However, they may also simply choose to abandon their nests if they get sick of the humming machines.
That’d be an issue, as the American oystercatcher is a vulnerable, protected species. Although their numbers have been rising lately, that trend could collapse if the birds can’t make babies in peace.
Consequently, NYC has taken an uncharacteristic step and has started training drone operators to avoid the birds’ nesting areas. The problem there is that no one’s really sure how far is far enough, so the birds keep attacking the drones — but at least they’re trying.
Not So Useful
While their operators are trying hard to steer clear of oystercatcher nests, the drones themselves are trying equally hard to be useful. So far, however, that hasn’t really worked out.
As per AP, neither the drones nor their life rafts have yet to rescue a single person. You might think that maybe that’s because no one’s been in trouble, but sadly, four people have drowned on NYC beaches this summer (as many as during all of last summer).
Also, maybe it’s just us, but we can also see a small issue with the drone’s life raft deployment strategy. Unless the operator is very careful, they might accidentally drop the raft on top of the drowning person. We’re sure that is the last thing they need.
The drones have participated in the search for two teenagers who disappeared in a riptide while swimming near Rockaway Beach in late June. Sadly, the drones didn’t find them — they were discovered when their bodies washed up on the beach.
Yet, the flying robots’ big break came on July 11. The drones spotted a shark swimming off Rockaway Beach, prompting the authorities to call everyone out of the water and close the beach.
Hey, maybe they’re good for something.