Heron?

[John T]

Caught this ugly stooge at the pond on the cam...

I only have small catfish and gold fish..... don't see any missing .... YET

small pond.... It's a work in progress....

 

[Tughill Tom]

They will clean it out fast. String out fishing line and hope it works to deter them.

 

[Sidekick]

I watched one at my pond swallow a 10 inch bass whole. Boy did that neck stretch out. Took it quite a while to be able to get up in the air when it saw me with the fish in it's belly. You're gonna need some kind of netting now that it has found a food source.

 

[X-Pup]

I strung some bright green 50lb test fishing line every 3-4 ft around the edges of my pond. I strung it up on some of those steel fence posts. Heron have a large wingspan and will get discouraged the first time they get tangled up in it.

I got the idea from a nearby garden shop that had a large pond. They said it worked great and didn't detract too much from the scenery.

My Heron's did not return after that. I think I did hear some commotion the next morning coming from the pond, but nothing after that, and they didn't come back the next year either.

 

[RCW]

Definitely a Great Blue Heron.

GBH are effective predators and are protected by numerous state and federal wildlife regulations.

Surprised it found your small pond, but it’s been pretty dry in the northeast.

Sounds like the other guys have some good advice for keeping them out.

 

[GeoHorn]

Buy a bunch of small fish and toss ‘em into that pond and FEED THE PET HERON!

(I like blue herons a Lot more than fish and frogs. LOL)

 

[tghs]

netting over the pond, Have also heard that a fake heron will keep them away as they don't like competition

 

[lynnmor]

My daughter has a small pond, a GBH cleaned out the fish in no time.

 

[drygulch]

I was introduced to some artistic protective options by a neighbor who contacted me about fabbing one for her koi pond. She provided the first pic as an example. I didn't take the job but now wish I would have.

I personally like this option better than a net, but obviously a lot more work involved. Having watched a lot of herons feeding on my trail cams, I think you could have much larger spacing than what most seem to use.

You might try Pinterest for some interesting ideas. Good luck finding a solution.

Greg

 

[drygulch]

I forgot to ask, what's the story with the fire plug that disappeared? Part of the water feature?

Pond looking very nice BTW.

Greg