Photographer’s drone stole by eagle in Pioneer Valley, Queensland

An amateur photographer managed to capture a one-second clip of the cheeky feathered thief who stole his drone.

Matthew Wood had spent a day filming in the beautiful Pioneer Valley, west of Mackay in Queensland, when he suddenly lost control of his drone.

He got one last look at his new owner before he was gone forever, with a perfect selfie of the eagle looking right into the camera.

“I was flying along the grassy hills up there and it looked great and very nice lighting…then the drone took a hit,” he said. abc.

“I was watching it all while connected to my controller and all I saw was the camera was looking pretty much at the ground as the eagle flew away with it.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Wood’s drone was taken out of GPS range, so he was unable to retrieve it.

However, Gisela Kaplan, from the University of New England, said the situation had a lucky outcome overall, as the eagle appeared to remain unharmed.

Professor Kaplan explained that drones pose an increasing risk to birds as they can cause serious injury in the event of a collision.

With more affordable drones in the sky and birds often unable to see them during flight, Professor Kaplan said there is an urgent need for new drone flight laws.

“The drone is the saddest set of activities that humans have done so far (against the birds)… We have taken the land from them, we were cutting down trees to rest and nest,” he said.

Professor Kelly recommended that drones be banned from flying in dense wildlife areas during the nesting season to reduce the risk of harming breeding birds.

“Fishing is not allowed when there is a spawning season, so drones are not allowed when there is a breeding season because it will prevent the birds from breeding,” he said.