The heron hit my pond last night. My fault for sure as I didn't have my water scare crow set up. Yesterday was the first day the pond didn't have ice on it.... My poor fish! ;( It's hard to how many it took but it's not looking good....
This message was edited Mar 11, 2007 9:25 AM
***GRRRRRR***** Heron *****RANT
I know how fustrating that is!!! I have egrets, snakes and raccoons that attack my fish and it is a constant battle. I trap the raccoons and my DG kills what snakes he can but the egrets are protected so all I can do is chase them away. Isn't nature fun!!!
Jeri
That stinks! I'm so sorry :(
Did you actually see the heron? At night it's usually a raccoon (that's what I hear anyways :)
A huge blue heron has been stalking my pond for the past week, I certainly sympathize.....I lost several huge expensive koi. I went to the dollar store and bought some 14x14 bird netting for fruit trees, but put it over the pond. So far, it's worked. Hopefully, a week or 2 of discouragement will make him move on....
fingers crossed....
Good news- the fish came out from hiding yesterday and it looks like he didn't get very many- if any at all. All my big guys are accounted for. :) That was my concern.
azreno- I didn't see the little bugger but I can tell by the 'sheen' on the top of the pond. It's almost like a powder like substance that the birds leave behind. I've not had any trouble with racoons as the pond has no ledges and slopes right on down to 3 feet deep.
Merry- sorry that you got hit too. :(
So glad it doesn't look as bad as it did at first! It is so traumatic for the fish to have a big ole bird, or anything really, fishing in the pond :( That's how I know I'll know when I've had a fisher.
Hope the net works for you Merry!
My only experience is having seen a huge blue heron at the pond's edge several times........he's never fished though, I hope the depth of the pond scares him off, it's at least 4' at the deepest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
I had one last year that was actually stalking my little dogs. Here is a picture of him, perched on my dog fence. He's an odd bird, was here for several months, and my property is high and dry with no pond. He was catching rabbits, if you can believe that. I saw him more than once, carrying a rabbit carcass around.
blpender
It does sound as if the sheen on the pond was the evidence from the heron...the oils in their feathers...
I net mine all winter, because I have had a heron come and fish at my pond through a 12inch hole in the ice in the middle of one winter. There was so much snow, you could not tell that there was even a pond there! The one time I felt I was safe. The best help I have found to give my fish from the heron was to build a large "shelf" with a large flat rock supported by stacks of bricks or rocks. I make it large enough for them to hide, but not too large that he can reach in and grab them. When the heron comes, it gives the fish a natural place to hide.
Isn't it funny that we have such a different perspective than our non-pond owning neighbors...mine was all excited to see "nature up close". This was while I was seen screaming and running from my back deck for the heron to move on and not eat my pets!
Herons "use" to be my favorite bird to watch and have in the area.....until I became a ponder! He's out there every morning. I've put a few small water gardens around the yard, with some sacrificial lamb goldfish in each one...to save the pricey big guys in my main ponds. The bird nets have worked so far, but have also caught my pug dog (she isn't the brightest crayon in the box) I'm hoping time and denial will discourage him from coming back...the nets work, but really aren't attractive. I have fairly steep sides on each pond, as they are all rectangular and built in the middle of my decks. Supposedly steep sides, as opposed to sloping sides, are harder for the birds to wade in and have a free dinner.
I've seen the pond scum on the surface every time he's hit....so it certainly validates he's munched away again. That and the sparkly scales left on the bottom.
Blah.....
:)
Merry:
How come to have such nature, we have to fight nature? It is not fair. Even with the set up you have, it is a shame you are still frequented.
As a last ditch effort before having the net the whole pond.
I ran a fishing line around the perimeter of the pond - one strand about 8 inches high and then crossed it over the pond a time or two.
This has stopped heron and "kingfisher" birds from getting any fish so far. When we had a little snow this winter I saw heron tracks walk close to the pond and then I guess he decided it didnt like it because he didnt go on to fish !
I had read of this solution too. The bird drags or shuffles it feet, so the fishing line prevents it from walking into the pond and it usually goes away. I did not do it at the time, only because my children were little and I did not want them going near the pond and tripping. I then went to the net solution. Your fishing line idea would certainly be more esthetic, as the pond would be totally open. Good idea.
ME TOO, ME TOO...I have had those dastardly devil HERONS flying over my pond, they choosing a FAIRLY SMALL BRANCHED TREE TO PERCH IN AND LURK FOR THE LARGEST KOI I have had them walk 2 at a time, one on either side of the shallow part of the pond to get the koi in a herd! I have the halogenic banners and the mated pair of ducks to ward them off. I have gone running from the back of the house down to the pond smashing two cake pans together, whilst screaming at the top of my lungs at those varments! I have gotten about 2 feet away, and they finally take off! Now this year the dollar store has in their bins, boxes of aligators!!! The kind you blow up for the lil kids pool!! I am going to get them filled and tie a string and rock on them, place some in the pond and others around the edges and see if that helps? I also have my eye on a huge hard plastic croc that cost $75.00 mail order, LOL
Place a 5 gallon bucket on it's side in the pond and hide with rocks. It gives the fish a place to hide from racoons and other predators. It also gives them a good place to hibernate in winter.
tootsie....PLEASE video tape the above proceedings! You have me cracking up with the thought of you running across your yard banging pans!
...whew.... :)
I have put a few cement blocks in the bottom of the deeper end of my pond, side by side. It gives them a foot and a half tunnel to hide in, so it's too deep for the herons to stand on, and too long of a tunnel for the herons to spork them with their beaks....
Hi Tootsie! lol I'm trying my hand at a pond this year for the first time, so here to read everything I can.... smiled when I saw your name.
I got so tired of the herons, snakes, etc getting my fishies. I finally netted my pond using deer netting. It almost blends in. It has kept my fishies safe and even kept out the leaves.
Yesterday morning we had a huge egret in our pond, probably eating our polliwogs. I went out and told him to stop, so he flew to the top of our biggest pine, which set the neighbor's geese to honking. This is a good thing, because the neighbors can be rather noisy at times and a little bit of payback is OK. :-)
Thing is, my DH won't let me really chase them off, because that's why he built the pond!! Have to admit the egret was awfully pretty and interesting to watch. We don't have koi - just some small goldfish which go to the deep end and hide under the rocks.
Glad I came back and read this thread again. Had a Blue Heron visit for the first time yesterday and it was back today. I too did the screaming, banging, etc but it was already moving as soon as it heard the door open. Pond is too large with too many tall plants to net it. I will try Charlotteda's fishing line method before I have dh blow it away. I know they're protected you don't have to tell me. At this point I don't care. How in the world that bird found my pond way up here on the mountain away from any other water is beyond me! I love watching them if they aren't in my pond eating expensive pets :~( I found a coon on the back porch the other night so will have to call the guy that traps them again. Haven't had a coon here since year before last when we first put it in.
Lana
Hi,
Yes, I see lots of coon tracks alomg the sides of the pnd too! The largest orange and white Koi, was the one I found with it's tail chewed off and he was laying up on the edge of the pond :( Thid one would come nearer than any of the other ones:) I would start throwing out their food and this one would come running, LOL swimming over and just eat like crazy! Those darn herons, I HATE THEM! Yes, I also they are protected by law, BUTR I HATE THEM ANYWAY!!! Maybe I will take up bow n arrow??When I get these casts off! Yes, they are pretty, but not when they are walking two at a time trying to herd up my fish! We are going to use the bobcat and just go straight down the sides of the pond so the buggers won't be able to walk on the sides :) There are hundreds of those UGH bullheads in there, gives me the willies when I walk into the pond to trim the pond lilies and I can feel them brush up against my legssssssssss, ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK, why don't the herons feast on them? They could all eat non stop for months!! A do me a great favor too!! The pond is so large that netting it is out of the question. I can't wait until the water temps rise to see if I might have babies, hee hee, So far I took at net last summer and got baby fidh about 3 different kinds, put them in the kiddie pools, NO KOI :( sun fish and more of those bullheadsssssss, sigh
tootsie, you probably didn't find any Koi babies because the other wild fishies in there think koi babies are an easy to see treat. They are so bright and shiny it's easy to find and eat them. Sorry :~( Do you have coon hunters in your area or a dog hunting club? If so, they may be willing to bring live traps out to trap the coons. They keep them alive and use them to make trails to train dogs. They drag the cage along to get the scent on the trail.
Lana
I had no idea blue herons came around here, but last summer I saw one at the neighbor's pond. His is huge, almost a lake, and mine is only 500 gallons. Haven't caught him there, but the coons like to go fishing every once in a while...of course, we live in the middle of 30 acres of woods. We just keep common goldfish, and they reproduce enought to make up for it. I just hope they don't get the bigger ones!
My biggest fish a Golden Orf is injured. Looks like the bird tried to grab Goldie at least twice and gave her wounds with scratches. I'm raising the salt level in the pond any other ideas?
Lana
Shotguns work well also - not a lot of meat on a heron though - bit leggy and tough.
LOL, don't wanna eat it ;~) Hmmm, wonder which shotgun to use? LOL I would probably shoot a hole in the pond! If dh catches him though...
Lana
OK, we've had it with the egrets. They scare the H out of our parrots and they're eating our gold fish as well. We've ordered a Scarecrow - one of those motion activated water squirters. Has anyone used them on their pond?
I haven't, but that sounds like it just might work for deer, too. Good luck! They show up this time every year, huh?
They come around any time of year here, but more about now. Very brazen, comes quite near the house and I can walk up to within a few feet of him before he scares off. Our birds fly all over the house screeching and end up nervous for hours. They are quite big.
I've got a great recipe for "STUFFED HERON," if you need it, I got a blow up snake atthe locla garden center and put it in the pond, just floats around, so far the heron wont go near the pond. Plus I keep the shotgun handy. Firecracker worked for a while but he got used to the sound. Try the snake, seems to work, wind moves it around the pond so it isn't in the same place all the time
Good tip! I'd actually considered one of those fake alligators, too. I'll look for a snake instead.
LOL, inflatable reptiles!! I never woulda thought of that--pretty smart!
An effecteve heron dterent is to string some failry heavy fishing line across your pond. Just some starnds criscrossing the surface every couple feet -- the herons will not try to fish there, and just the visual effect of the light on the line seems to keep them from landing. Someone told me they place a line down the center of a roofline to deter gulls from landing on shore houses, and that it will work on ponds , too. We have not had a problem since doing this (>1 year). Before this we had a fake heron-- effective for a few months only. And a net -- effective but unattractive and inconvenient to wrk around esp. if you have plants.
So far we haven't had to battle any herons--but the duck and geese have been an annual spring challenge. I have always heard the the larger fishers seem to follow the water fowl if you let them nest. We keep a few leaf and lawn bags full of brightly color balls that are available in most toy departments. The smallest breeze will keep them in motion on the top of the water. The seem to confuse the birds and obstruct the view from above.
Not sure if it would work with the fishers. If it doesn't you can always take the balls to a nearby preschool.
Good Luck
We put the fish line strands across all areas that they could stand on... and fingers crossed, it seems to be working. We've had it up for about a month or so... I actually saw a heron fly over and keep on going... didn't even try to land.
bsavage, I'd like to know more about these fish lines you've put up. I currently have netting over my pond after losing 5 fish to a heron this spring. My fault. I thought they had enough cover with the large rocks. Guess not, poor babies. I lost my favorite white koi named Twinkle. She's the white one in the photo. Also lost my all black koi and three shubunkins. I'd like to think about taking the net off, but today there was an eagle circling above the house. How do you use the lines?
You can just run it back and forth and criss cross it a couple of times, just a few inches above the water; you do not need much at all. I would use whatever plants and rocks you have plus a few sticks to wrap it around. The light reflecting off of it probably does act as a deterrent as does the thought of getting their legs caught in it. It really doesn't show much at all so keep it simple and you can easily remove it whenever you want to.
Funny about the fake snake working; around here the herons love snakes and you often see them with a huge snake in their bills. A redeeming quality for herons if you ask me. LOL
Pixy.. exactly what ardesia said. Although the pic here is not that great, you can see the fishing line in the background. We strung it around our malibu lights and some of the rocks. Initially we only put it in the more shallow areas, thinking that they couldn't get in where the pond has straight down sides and is 3 1/2 ' deep... but they tried. They also tried to get in from the "babbling brook" that runs between our two ponds. So, we've got it around all of the edges now. You really don't notice it much, and even if you do notice it, it's not really unattractive. Hope that helps...
Brenda
Yes, I can see the fishing line, thanks! Just to clarify, though, you have the line around the perimeter of the pond only, where they would stand when trying to catch fish? Or do you have it across the water as well? My nets cover the entire pond. Very unattractive, but it will keep the eagle from landing!
Mostly just around the edges, except for the one shallow area, and there we have it across the whole area. Maybe I can get another pic tomorrow a.m.