Pricing · 2026–27 season
Published prices, instant estimate
No call needed to find out what a survey costs. Prices include travel within Montgomery and the adjoining counties, the flight, analysis, and the written report.
Instant estimate
Price your survey in 30 seconds
- Flight plan with transects sized to your parcel
- Predawn thermal survey with visual confirmation
- Observed count, density per mi², and detection-adjusted range
- Detection map and written method
Flight windowDec 1, 2026 – Mar 15, 2027 · predawn, leaf-off
Request this surveyTravel is included in Montgomery and the adjoining counties. Your written quote confirms the price after a quick check of access and airspace.
| Up to 100 acres | $750 flat |
| 101 – 300 acres | + $2.50 per additional acre |
| 301 – 1,280 acres (2 mi²) | + $1.50 per additional acre |
| Over 2 mi² | + $1.00 per additional acre (≈ $640 / mi²) |
Examples: 100 ac $750 · 300 ac $1,250 · 640 ac $1,750 · 1,280 ac $2,725 · 3,200 ac $4,650 · 6,400 ac $7,850
Four flights for 2.8× the census price of your area, about 14% less than a census plus three single flights. The winter flight includes a full census.
75% of the census price for the area, with a $575 minimum.
Census price for your program lands plus $600 for the records review, trend chart, board summary, and presentation.
Add-ons
| Add-on | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Repeat flight within 14 days | Tightens the confidence range | +40% of survey |
| GIS data package | Shapefile, KML, and GeoJSON | $200 |
| Board or committee presentation | 30 minutes, in person or virtual | $250 |
| 72-hour report | Instead of 7 business days | +25% of survey |
| 3-year agreement | Census or program evaluation, price locked | 10% off each year |
The fine print, in plain words
How booking works
Written quote first
Your estimate becomes a fixed written quote after we confirm boundaries, access, and airspace. The quoted price is the price.
A deposit reserves your window
Count windows are limited by weather. A deposit holds your place and is applied to your invoice.
Weather is on us
We choose the night by the forecast. If weather cancels a flight before we deploy, we reschedule at no charge.
Travel
Included in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Berks, Lehigh, Delaware, Philadelphia counties. Farther surveys add mileage, quoted up front.
Questions
About cost and scheduling
How much does a deer census cost?
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.
When can you fly a deer count?
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.
Why do you fly before sunrise?
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.
What's the flashing light I saw?
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.
Need a formal quote for a board packet or a purchase order? Request one and we'll send a PDF quote and W-9.
Reserve a winter count window.
Counts fly Dec 1 – Mar 15, on cold, clear nights. Windows fill in order of request, and townships often need the numbers before spring board meetings.