Drone policy called for after Hopewell Rock falcons disturbed

New policies are needed to control drones at the Hopewell Rocks park after two peregrine falcon chicks and their mother were disturbed last Thursday, according to an official.

The park had not yet opened for the day when Kevin Snair, the supervisor of park interpretive services, said the remote-controlled drone startled him as well as the birds that nest in the park.

"All of a sudden, I heard this almost like a hive of bees coming and I recognized it right away as a drone in the park. And it's buzzing over Big Cove look-off and the adult peregrine is concerned, you can tell it is freaked out by it," Snair said.

"So she flies right in, she hovers like in around the babies and she is being very protective of them. So we can tell she is being disturbed."

Snair said because the drone had a long range, he could not tell who was flying it.

Drones are currently allowed to be used at Hopewell Rocks.

But the park official said there needs to be some basic rules put in place to protect visitors and the park's wildlife from drones.

He said drones are become very cheap and that means more are flying around the park.

"This is all a brand new thing and parks all over the world are experiencing the same issue. How do we draw the line with this new technology?" he said.

"We have to look at guest safety, we have to look at the enjoyment of our guests, but we have to look out for the wildlife as well."

He said the drone policy has not been created yet, but he said any new guidelines will have to impose no-fly zones around the Big Cove look-off when the peregrines are nesting and in the North Beach area when the semipalmated sandpipers are there in the summer.

Snair said these are some common sense changes that the average park visitor may not be aware of.

"We have to weigh, is it worth that one person's enjoyment to put others at risk," he said.

There are currently two baby peregrine falcons nesting in the park.

There were three eggs laid and hatched in May. But Snair said last week one of the chicks went missing.

The park official expects the baby bird got too adventurous and fell off the cliff.