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Deer Drone Survey
Posted on 1/29/26 at 8:37 am
Posted on 1/29/26 at 8:37 am
Anyone have experience or know someone that has had a drone survey completed. Was it what you expected? Are some better than others? I have seen ads for a couple in Louisiana Mississippi area, so looking for recommendations. Delta and SWLA Drone are the two that popped up recently?
5
Posted on 1/29/26 at 8:45 am to finfeathersport
We do yearly helicopter surveys at my lease in Texas. It's part of being on MLD lands. Inquired with the biologist about using a drone next year. She said as long as they use same grid and count methods as the approved helicopter guys it was sufficient.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 9:06 am to SETH6180
Curious how this works. Do they use thermals at night or can they count during the day?
Posted on 1/29/26 at 9:16 am to LEASTBAY
The folks we talked with do it during the day with drone. But this is in South Texas brush country where you can see thru the canopy. We are actually flying this weekend, it's always done late January early February, when the canopy is the thinnest.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 9:37 am to finfeathersport
I have had one done. Most of the people that do it don’t do it right. There is a strict protocol in how it should be done. The research is pretty new and out of Auburn. They say they are 100% accurate but they aren’t.
The protocol calls for multiple nights of flights and set on specific gridding and elevation. There have already been a couple changes to the protocol since it was released.
The protocol calls for multiple nights of flights and set on specific gridding and elevation. There have already been a couple changes to the protocol since it was released.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 9:37 am to finfeathersport
Give Holt Martin out of lake providence a call. He does a lot of the river camps up and down the Mississippi.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 10:42 am to LoneStarStiffShaft
I was amazed at how many bobcats they see.
Posted on 1/29/26 at 2:00 pm to finfeathersport
Yes, do several each year.
Results are accurate but weather can have an impact.
Results are accurate but weather can have an impact.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 6:57 am to finfeathersport
I talked to someone recently that’s doing it. He runs a ton of trail cameras on his place and still found 4 mature bucks he had never seen.
They go during the day using thermal and locate the deer. Then they switch to regular video and get a good look at what it is.
They go during the day using thermal and locate the deer. Then they switch to regular video and get a good look at what it is.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 7:00 am to Dirt Booger
What time of day? How can you count deer mid day without thermal and expect it to be accurate? They can camouflage extremely well and often bed in very dense thickets
Posted on 1/30/26 at 7:01 am to SETH6180
quote:
We do yearly helicopter surveys at my lease in Texas. It's part of being on MLD lands.
What is MLD land? Looks like the state owns it? They make you pay for the helicopter count as part of the lease or the state pays?
Posted on 1/30/26 at 7:18 am to baldona
The thermal imagery looks the same during the day as it does at night. The best conditions for conducting the survey are on an overcast day or during early morning/late evening, when direct sunlight is not heating the tree tops. Night surveys are possible, but identifying deer is easier during daylight since you can zoom in without using the drone’s spotlight. Some drones have up to 200× zoom and can maneuver to get different angles, allowing you to see deer even in thick cover. You can see a deer blink from 300 feet. its pretty impressive.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 7:46 am to baldona
Managed lands deer program in Texas. It allows you to work with a biologist to customize management for your specific ranch. You get allotted separate tags and have different seasons from the rest of the state. Some specific requirements have to be met, IE harvest data, surveys etc. We pay for it, it's all private land.
TPWD Managed Lands Deer Program
TPWD Managed Lands Deer Program
This post was edited on 1/30/26 at 8:55 am
Posted on 1/30/26 at 9:44 am to MarshMan
quote:
The thermal imagery looks the same during the day as it does at night. The best conditions for conducting the survey are on an overcast day or during early morning/late evening,
The companies I've seen only do it early in the morning.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 10:26 am to baldona
That’s why I said they go in during the day using thermal to locate the deer, then switch to regular video to see what the deer is.
Posted on 1/30/26 at 11:11 am to MarshMan
quote:
The thermal imagery looks the same during the day as it does at night.
Thermal during the day in winter makes sense. I just assumed thermal in the heat of summer during the day would not be as easy but maybe the tech is there.
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