Anne Lurie
July 9th 03, 11:52 PM
I'd guess the culprit was a great blue heron, as I think a 13" fish might be
bit tough for the smaller green heron to manage.
As for not noticing a great blue heron, I assumed that Chad meant there was
no one home between 6:30 am & 5:30 pm to see the GBH (birder's jargon).
Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC
"Bonnie Espenshade" > wrote in message
...
> Chad wrote:
> > Ok, I lost a fish yesterday and have no clue to who the culpret
> > is....yet. Time to play a little detective game.... we will see who
> > is right when I catch him in the act and STOP him from getting any
> > Koi.
> >
> > The Fish :
> >
> > 5 year old white fancy goldfish, about 13 inches in length. Of
> > course, the one that always rested on my feet while I work with the
> > lilies and would let my kids pet her. Probably a bit too friendly
> >
> > The Facts:
> >
> > 1. Fish was present in the pond pre-work 6:30 a.m.
> > 2. Fish was noticed missing around 5:30 p.m.
> > 3.Nothing was disturbed in pond. 1300 + gallon pond, 5 decent sized
> > Lilies, Horsetail, Dwarf Papyrus, Hornwort(around lillies), etc.
> > 4.Nothing disturbed around the pond. The perimeter of the pond is
> > River Flats that range from 6" to 16" and are not quite settled in
> > place, outside of that is fresh cedar bark mulch which always sticks
> > to my feet when I am working on the pond.
> > 5.9 other fish were hanging around where the stream enters the pond,
> > then acted normal when fed.
> > 6.I had a raccoon problem with my deck pond 3 years ago. But they
> > left evidence, close your eyes if your squimish, "parts laying
> > around".
> > 7.One other thing to include, I have been in my house over 6 years and
> > I live in an urban area. The closest outskirts of town are about 3+
> > miles away. Over last weekend I was driving over a creek that is
> > about 4 blocks away and in a pond, next to a large nursery I noticed
> > what looked like a small [2 ½ ft tall] white ibis. Well, I thought
> > this land was owned by the nursery, but I had never drove around the
> > other side so I thought what the heck. Turns out the land is called
> > Heron's Haven Wetland, an Urban Wetland and is maintained by the
> > Audubon Society. I am still in shock that I didn't know it was there.
> > :( Anyway, here is an excerpt of fauna from their site. "Home to
> > green herons, big blue herons, American bitterns, Canada geese, wood
> > chucks, mink, muskrat, and deer". Before last weekend I had only seen
> > the woodchuck around and my in-laws spotted some deer two weeks ago
> > walking in a strip mall parking lot about 3 blocks away.
> >
> > So, who do you think did it???
>
> My vote would be for the green heron or great blue heron.
> The green heron can hide very well and go unseen. There
> is no way you'd miss a great blue by your pond.
> --
> Bonnie
> NJ
> http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/
>
>
bit tough for the smaller green heron to manage.
As for not noticing a great blue heron, I assumed that Chad meant there was
no one home between 6:30 am & 5:30 pm to see the GBH (birder's jargon).
Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC
"Bonnie Espenshade" > wrote in message
...
> Chad wrote:
> > Ok, I lost a fish yesterday and have no clue to who the culpret
> > is....yet. Time to play a little detective game.... we will see who
> > is right when I catch him in the act and STOP him from getting any
> > Koi.
> >
> > The Fish :
> >
> > 5 year old white fancy goldfish, about 13 inches in length. Of
> > course, the one that always rested on my feet while I work with the
> > lilies and would let my kids pet her. Probably a bit too friendly
> >
> > The Facts:
> >
> > 1. Fish was present in the pond pre-work 6:30 a.m.
> > 2. Fish was noticed missing around 5:30 p.m.
> > 3.Nothing was disturbed in pond. 1300 + gallon pond, 5 decent sized
> > Lilies, Horsetail, Dwarf Papyrus, Hornwort(around lillies), etc.
> > 4.Nothing disturbed around the pond. The perimeter of the pond is
> > River Flats that range from 6" to 16" and are not quite settled in
> > place, outside of that is fresh cedar bark mulch which always sticks
> > to my feet when I am working on the pond.
> > 5.9 other fish were hanging around where the stream enters the pond,
> > then acted normal when fed.
> > 6.I had a raccoon problem with my deck pond 3 years ago. But they
> > left evidence, close your eyes if your squimish, "parts laying
> > around".
> > 7.One other thing to include, I have been in my house over 6 years and
> > I live in an urban area. The closest outskirts of town are about 3+
> > miles away. Over last weekend I was driving over a creek that is
> > about 4 blocks away and in a pond, next to a large nursery I noticed
> > what looked like a small [2 ½ ft tall] white ibis. Well, I thought
> > this land was owned by the nursery, but I had never drove around the
> > other side so I thought what the heck. Turns out the land is called
> > Heron's Haven Wetland, an Urban Wetland and is maintained by the
> > Audubon Society. I am still in shock that I didn't know it was there.
> > :( Anyway, here is an excerpt of fauna from their site. "Home to
> > green herons, big blue herons, American bitterns, Canada geese, wood
> > chucks, mink, muskrat, and deer". Before last weekend I had only seen
> > the woodchuck around and my in-laws spotted some deer two weeks ago
> > walking in a strip mall parking lot about 3 blocks away.
> >
> > So, who do you think did it???
>
> My vote would be for the green heron or great blue heron.
> The green heron can hide very well and go unseen. There
> is no way you'd miss a great blue by your pond.
> --
> Bonnie
> NJ
> http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/
>
>