Hi, I am sorry if this has been asked before but…..
I have a DJI mini 4 pro (247g when weighed)
I fly in areas that have a lot of birds. Putting reflective tape on the drone reportedly prevents bird attacks. I would also like to put a strobe on it to make it more visible. Both mods would push it over the magic 249g threshold ( but way under 500g). I fly mostly in recreational areas but there are buildings and uninvolved people underneath but no crowds. I am a gold member of GADR. I do this for fun so not commercially.
Is it worth taking the A2 C of C as my drone with a strobe will be about 265g or does article 16 cover me. I am also considering the A2 c of c for extra knowledge when I have the time though at the moment it is a low priority.
Thanks very much.
Andrew
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Allegedly
You won’t find many of those in authority walking around with a set of electronic pocket scales. Also there is no mention of strobe lights whilst flying under Article 16 Authorisation.
There is no harm in doing A2 CofC training, there is the benefit that iit will give you a greater depth of knowledge and can be done for free. The cost will come only if you want to take the exam at the end.
As @uav_hampshire says, authority figures aren’t in the habit of carrying scales. In seven years of drone flying I have yet to have anyone ask about the weight of anything I’m flying or if I have added any stickers to increase the weight of a sub-250gram aircraft to over the magic figure.
I am definitely not condoning any lawlessness, just pointing out realiies 
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I lost a drone last year to seagull attack (and I cannot imagine that reflective or bright coloured skin would have made much if any difference to the all-up weight of the drone, or had any effect whatsoever on the chances of attack). They were mob-handed, and, though the breeding season had finished, seemed to be group of about a dozen ‘juveniles delinquents’, showing off to each other and egging each other on. I have had no trouble with them since, and I do quite a lot of coastal flying; they just carry on about their own business and leave my drone alone, which suits me! Luckily I have yet to encounter Oystercatchers, which I’m told will attack mob-handed by default.
I have put an orange reflective skin on my drone, but have yet to notice it have any effect on birds, and in any case that’s not why I did it. I skinned the drone to improve my sighting of it against dark backgrounds (grey is a stupid colour for a drone, take note DJI). As far as I know, the weight of a few pieces of sticky paper doesn’t take the drone (Mini 4K) over 250g.
I also have a ‘Flytron’ strobe light, which also helps with sighting and enables me to fly safely in poorer light conditions. This is also of negligable weight, but probably takes the drone a few grams over 249. I have decided not to worry about this, rabid scofflaw that I am…
I agree with uav-hampshire on ths point; your average plod isn’t going to be interested unless a complaint has been made or you are being clearly anti-social or dangerous, they have plenty of work already and aren’t looking for more, especially if it is going to involve them in disputes or paperwork. Flying to CAA drone code will protect you from most of that sort of thing, and is pretty much common sense. Karen & Ken are the main thing to worry about, and luckily so far I have escaped their attention. They won’t be going around with scales about their persons either, that’s drug dealers!
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Thanks for all your input. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing as I am new to all this. 
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