Questions, answered plainly

Published studies find thermal drone surveys detect roughly 56% to 92% of the deer actually present, depending on cover, temperature, and whether deer are bedded. No method counts every deer.

So every report gives the observed count, a detection-adjusted range, and the conditions that affected it. A repeat flight within 14 days tightens the range. Read the method.

Full counts fly from December through mid-March, before dawn, on cold, clear, calm nights after the leaves are down. The 2026–27 count season runs Dec 1, 2026 – Mar 15, 2027. Seasonal movement flights run spring through fall, always before dawn when the ground is coolest.

A winter deer census starts at $750 for up to 100 acres. Larger areas add $2.50 per acre up to 300 acres, $1.50 per acre up to 2 square miles, and $1.00 per acre beyond. Travel is included in Montgomery and the adjoining counties. Get an instant estimate.

No. The Pennsylvania Game Commission treats using drones for any part of hunting, including recovering deer, as unlawful. We survey for counts and management decisions only, and we never share live or recent locations of deer or other wildlife with hunters or trappers.

Not by law. The FAA regulates the airspace, and neither federal nor Pennsylvania law requires a landowner's permission for a drone flight over their land that follows FAA rules. Permission is needed to take off and land on private property, so we launch and land only where the owner has agreed.

As a company policy, we survey only land whose owner or manager has agreed: that is the only land we count, map, and report on. If the aircraft passes over a neighbor's land while turning, nothing there is counted or shared. Flights follow FAA Part 107, including night-operation rules and airspace authorization near airports. State Game Lands and many parks restrict drones, and we request their permission on your behalf.

Please call or text us at (835) 997-2120. We're glad to explain what we're doing, show you our FAA certificate, and put you in touch with the client who requested the survey.

Please don't try to bring the aircraft down or block it. The FAA treats a drone as an aircraft, and damaging or destroying an aircraft is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 32). Jamming its radio or GPS signals also violates federal law, and shooting at it endangers people nearby. We report any interference with a lawful flight to local police and the FAA.

Our thermal camera finds animals by their body heat, and the difference between a warm animal and the ground is largest in the last cold hours before dawn. That's when counts are most accurate. Flights usually start about two hours before sunrise and end soon after it.

Most likely our drone's anti-collision lights. The FAA requires them on every drone flown before sunrise, and they're visible for about 3 miles, so the drone is usually farther away and higher than it looks. Current flights are listed on our Seeing our drone? page.

No. The camera points straight down at the survey area and counts animals. We don't record people, images that happen to show neighboring homes or property aren't counted or shared, and we remove all audio. Pennsylvania law also makes it an offense to use a drone to watch a person in a private place (18 Pa.C.S. § 3505).

At survey height, 200 to 400 feet up, most animals barely notice it, though a dog may bark at the lights. We fly steady lines at that height, never drop low over pastures or barns, and ask the landowner where livestock are before we plan the flight. If you keep horses next to a survey area, call us at (835) 997-2120 and we'll plan around them.

Call or text (835) 997-2120; if the pilot is flying, you'll hear back right after the aircraft lands. Our parked vehicle carries a “Drone Survey in Progress” sign or an “Authorized Survey” card with the same number. Our aircraft also broadcast FAA Remote ID, which free phone apps can read, and current flights are listed on our Seeing our drone? page.

Please call us at (835) 997-2120 rather than moving it; the battery can be hot. We'll come to collect it only with your permission, and we'll work with you on anything it damaged.

The drone and the survey data on it remain ours and our client's, so please don't keep it or open it. Under Pennsylvania law, keeping lost property whose owner is known is theft (18 Pa.C.S. § 3924). We'll gladly pay a reward for its return.

Yes. Call or email us (dale@frontierdronesolutions.com) with the date and place. We'll check the footage, delete anything showing your home or family from every copy we hold, and confirm in writing, usually within a few days and always within 30.

Survey flights run at about 300 to 400 feet above ground, high enough that deer rarely react. We don't use spotlights, chase animals, or descend on groups. If deer start moving because of the aircraft, we note it in the report.

A written report within 7 business days: observed count, density per square mile, a detection-adjusted range, antlered and antlerless counts where visible, a detection map, flight and weather logs, and the method. GIS files and a board presentation are available. See a sample report.

You do. We keep survey locations confidential, share them only with people you name, and delete raw footage on request after delivery. Privacy details.

Yes. We survey Pennsylvania's larger land mammals: coyote, red and gray fox, black bear, bobcat, and elk. Each survey is planned around the species and quoted per site. Raccoons, otters, weasels, and animals of similar size are too small to count reliably from survey altitude, and we don't survey birds. Other wildlife surveys.