Heron Problem

[Bill Kerrell]

We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a Barn
Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near Owls ?
Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I see him (or
Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They do have very
good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days. But the Heron
does not return. ... Solved a problem for us hope it helps someone ..
Bill
Pensacola, FL

[Derek Broughton]

Bill Kerrell wrote:

> We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
> had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
> several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
> day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a
> Barn Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near
> Owls ? Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I
> see him (or Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They
> do have very good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days.

I expect the moving is important. My friend sails for the Canadian Coast
Guard 28 days at a time, and came home once to find Gulls had pooped all
over his brand new truck - parked on the wharf for 28 days. So he put a
plastic owl in the back, and came back next time to find they'd pooped all
over the owl. I've seen the same at our harbour ferry terminal, where the
pigeons have left the fake owls the same white color as everything else.

Owls seem to work sometimes, but it's important to move them because other
birds stop even noticing them if they never move. I guess one of the
advantages of an owl over, for instance, a Red-tailed Hawk is that birds
don't expect an owl to move _much_.
--
derek

[ClaudCar]

motion activated/sound emitting owl
http://www.birdbusters.com/scare_bird_owl_decoy.html
______________________
Claudia
Totus Tuus

[RichToyBox]

One of the most effective devices is a gatorgaurd. Floating gater head,
bobs around in the pond, moves with the wind, and in your neck of the woods,
the herons would definitely know what a gator is.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Bill Kerrell" > wrote in message
news:5nRdd.51835$hj.50784@fed1read07...
> We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
> had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
> several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
> day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a
> Barn Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near
> Owls ? Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I
> see him (or Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They
> do have very good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days.
> But the Heron does not return. ... Solved a problem for us hope it helps
> someone ..
> Bill
> Pensacola, FL
>

[Steve]

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 11:22:45 -0500, "Bill Kerrell" >
wrote:

>We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
>had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
>several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
>day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a Barn
>Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near Owls ?
>Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I see him (or
>Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They do have very
>good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days. But the Heron
>does not return. ... Solved a problem for us hope it helps someone ..
>Bill
>Pensacola, FL
>
>
I visited a trout hatchery last week They ran fishing line about a
foot apart a little bit above the water. They said it confused the
herons.

Steve

[laskdfpoiwq]

I use the Owl here in Texas for the snakes (found a water moccasin in the
pond one day). Works well.

When I has a heron problem, I installed a motion activited sprinkler. It
was kind of fun watching the heron come in to land and getting whacked by
the sprinkler spray.

You can get them at most pond shops and occasionally at home depot.

Jim
"Bill Kerrell" > wrote in message
news:5nRdd.51835$hj.50784@fed1read07...
> We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
> had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
> several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
> day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a
Barn
> Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near Owls ?
> Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I see him
(or
> Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They do have
very
> good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days. But the Heron
> does not return. ... Solved a problem for us hope it helps someone ..
> Bill
> Pensacola, FL
>
>

[kc]

And do you have to remember to disable it in order not to get sprinkled
yourself?
Kirsten
"laskdfpoiwq" > wrote in message
...
>I use the Owl here in Texas for the snakes (found a water moccasin in the
> pond one day). Works well.
>
> When I has a heron problem, I installed a motion activited sprinkler. It
> was kind of fun watching the heron come in to land and getting whacked by
> the sprinkler spray.
>
> You can get them at most pond shops and occasionally at home depot.
>
> Jim
> "Bill Kerrell" > wrote in message
> news:5nRdd.51835$hj.50784@fed1read07...
>> We live within easy flight distance from the bay here in Pensacola. So we
>> had our visits from a Great Blue Heron. We were able to scare him away
>> several times. I covered the pond with screen. It looked terrible. So one
>> day I am at WalMart and in the garden dept found this 12" replica of a
> Barn
>> Owl. ($8.00 and change) Someone had said Herons will not come near Owls ?
>> Well it seems to have solved our problem. Every once in awhile I see him
> (or
>> Her) flying over at about 500' or so, but it keeps going. They do have
> very
>> good eye sight. I move the Owl around every couple of days. But the Heron
>> does not return. ... Solved a problem for us hope it helps someone ..
>> Bill
>> Pensacola, FL
>>
>>
>
>

[Andrew Burgess]

>Bill.... that is a good idea, moving the Barn Owl from time to time.
>We have a heron visiting daily who is chased away by a pair of
>resident sea gulls, they live up on the roof of the house. As soon as
....
>I do not mind him visiting as my pond has stright sides and he cannot
>wade in to it even he wanted to, the pond is 4 feet 6 ins deep.

This myth needs to die ;-)

Heron can take fish from the surface of the pond without getting their feet wet.
Someone posted a movie clip here a few months ago, the heron was
a few feet from the pond, dashed over and grabbed a fish near the surface
before the fish could react.

I have 3 foot vertical sides and its always worked for raccoons but recently
a heron took his toll. Bird net now and that has worked.

[Benign Vanilla]

"Andrew Burgess" > wrote in message
...
> >Bill.... that is a good idea, moving the Barn Owl from time to time.
> >We have a heron visiting daily who is chased away by a pair of
> >resident sea gulls, they live up on the roof of the house. As soon as
> ...
> >I do not mind him visiting as my pond has stright sides and he cannot
> >wade in to it even he wanted to, the pond is 4 feet 6 ins deep.
>
> This myth needs to die ;-)
>
> Heron can take fish from the surface of the pond without getting their
feet wet.
> Someone posted a movie clip here a few months ago, the heron was
> a few feet from the pond, dashed over and grabbed a fish near the surface
> before the fish could react.
>
> I have 3 foot vertical sides and its always worked for raccoons but
recently
> a heron took his toll. Bird net now and that has worked.

A link to that video is archived here,
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Animals/Birds/Heron/. We are in the process of
loading an archived version to our site as well.

BV.

[Jim and Phyllis Hurley]

Jeff,

The heron site is in Danish.

Jim

--
____________________________________________
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net\p\pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog-A-Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Andrew Burgess" > wrote in message
> ...
> > >Bill.... that is a good idea, moving the Barn Owl from time to time.
> > >We have a heron visiting daily who is chased away by a pair of
> > >resident sea gulls, they live up on the roof of the house. As soon as
> > ...
> > >I do not mind him visiting as my pond has stright sides and he cannot
> > >wade in to it even he wanted to, the pond is 4 feet 6 ins deep.
> >
> > This myth needs to die ;-)
> >
> > Heron can take fish from the surface of the pond without getting their
> feet wet.
> > Someone posted a movie clip here a few months ago, the heron was
> > a few feet from the pond, dashed over and grabbed a fish near the
surface
> > before the fish could react.
> >
> > I have 3 foot vertical sides and its always worked for raccoons but
> recently
> > a heron took his toll. Bird net now and that has worked.
>
> A link to that video is archived here,
> http://www.iheartmypond.com/Animals/Birds/Heron/. We are in the process of
> loading an archived version to our site as well.
>
> BV.
>
>

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>And do you have to remember to disable it in order not to get sprinkled
>yourself? >Kirsten

I have two, we humans learn, only takes getting hit a few times and you
learn to turn it off before walking in front of it. ;o) Notes on the door
help too.

Now that I've screened the ponds and removed the sprinklers, it is still
hard to walk out in "the sprinkler target zone". ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Bill Spohn]

>we humans learn, only takes getting hit a few times and you
>learn to turn it off before walking in front of it.

Hmm - my wife hist the electric fence a few times (I can hear it clear across
the garden) before she learns not to touch it when picking pears.

The racoons only hit it once.

Does this mean that the racoons are smarter than my wife........

[Derek Broughton]

Bill Spohn wrote:

>>we humans learn, only takes getting hit a few times and you
>>learn to turn it off before walking in front of it.
>
> Hmm - my wife hist the electric fence a few times (I can hear it clear
> across the garden) before she learns not to touch it when picking pears.
>
> The racoons only hit it once.
>
> Does this mean that the racoons are smarter than my wife........

Yes. But then racoons are probably the smartest creatures on the planet
(even including white mice and dolphins). Some creatures never learn - I
spent Sunday at the emergency vet clinic with my German pointer. She's had
4 encounters with porcupines, now, two of them requiring the emergency
trip.
--
derek

[Bonnie]

I just love it when I think it's turned off and the battery
is low.....it waits until you're directly in front of it and
only 2 feet away!!!!!!

--
Bonnie
NJ

[Benign Vanilla]

"Jim and Phyllis Hurley" > wrote in message
...
> Jeff,
>
> The heron site is in Danish.
<snip>

LOL. You don't read danish?

BV.

[Jim and Phyllis Hurley]

Theological German and Dutch, but not Danish.

Jim

--
____________________________________________
See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net\p\pwp-jameshurley
Ask me about Jog-A-Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jim and Phyllis Hurley" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Jeff,
> >
> > The heron site is in Danish.
> <snip>
>
> LOL. You don't read danish?
>
> BV.
>
>