Researchers have called for greater regulation of drones after finding they were having a big impact on endangered species.

The team, led by PhD candidate Joshua Wilson, carried out 240 drone approaches over flocks of birds in Moreton Bay and found that 11 species were generally unaffected.

“Drones can interrupt birds as they try to rest or feed and birds avoid habitats that are regularly disturbed,” Wilson said.

“If the birds are consistently interrupted or scared away for their preferred habitats, species like the eastern curlew, which migrates thousands of kilometres to breed, may find it difficult to gain the energy they need to survive and reproduce.”

He said a drones had a commercial and recreational benefit and were even used to monitor birds in hard-to-reach locations, but the findings indicated they needed more space.