Herons

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
In rec.ponds kathy wrote:
My labradors and I were able to scare a heron away
over a two day period.

Don't discount the power of dogs. I saw on that Animal Planet "dog jobs"
(or maybe it was the breed profile, forget exactly) show that a fish
breeder in FL uses trained dogs to scare away migratory birds. The dogs
were trained to chase and bark at any birds that try to land in their
area, but not to touch or attack the birds (thus keeping them legal in
terms of the migratory bird act). The dogs were also under constant
supervision by a handler to make sure they adhered to their training.
According to the story, it made a significant reduction in losses to have
the dogs around the outdoor stock ponds.

My dog does that. Can I rent her out? LOL.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
snip
Hmm, go on vacation, come back to find a troll named Roy has taken up
residence. BV, don't bother replying to Roy. The more people that do reply
to him (particularly "ah" with the autoreply, that's utterly pointless and
just ups the signal to noise ratio), the more he will post. I regular
another newsgroup that has had a resident troll for years. For the most
part, newbies quickly recognize that the person is a troll by the nature
of his postings. The more the regulars ignore the resident troll, the less
clutter the newsgroup has. The threads that have the worst signal to noise
ratio are the ones where people reply to the troll there. Seeing similar
trends here when perusing the old messages for the last couple of weeks.
Just hold to the old "wait and count to 10" adage when you feel tempted to
reply.
snip

Yer right. 100% right. I promise to ignore him from now on.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

"kathy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Carol wrote And in the end only bird netting works

Netting is always an option
but some people really don't want to net their ponds.
For them it spoils the look,
makes it hard to work in the pond,
ruins the look of tall marginals,
gets blown off,
for me it is a danger for my dogs, younger children, the squirrels
and the birds.
Herons have stabbed through nets, green herons have wriggled under
nets. If you tangle up a heron in your net and kill it you have some
serious explaining to do to the feds.
Other options DO work for other ponders so I think it is important to
list them as they DO work.
I most always list netting as an option but other options
DO WORK for other ponders.

I concure. The hooting, hollering, flapping your arms, screaming while your
dog barks at you technique is so far working well for me.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

"~ Windsong ~" P@P wrote in message
...
snip
** NOTHING keeps herons out of a pond but netting! Get the bird netting
at
ACE Hardware or any Hardware store. It's less expensive than in Pet Shops
or online. Some people will recommend water sprayers ($100.00) or
wire/strings around the pond - they don't work for long!
snip

Check out this video of a Heron fishing through some wire

http://www.iheartmypond.com/Animals/...on/KB99657.asp


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:09:25 -0600, Katra
wrote:

Can anyone help? I am a new Koi keeper, I put my first six Koi into my
newly built pond in November. 10 days ago when I wend down to feed
them there were only five Koi and three of my gold fish had also gone.
I have a Heron that comes to the pond every day. I have tried putting
a fake Heron at the side of the pond but the real one keeps coming
back. Any ideas on how I can get rid of it? Also since the fish went
missing the other Koi and gold fish in the pond will no longer come up
to the surface. They sit on the bottom of the pond all the time and
wont feed. Any advice would be appreciated.

I swear by the motion sprinkler, but you may have to put netting up for
awhile, since the heron has fed. Most deterrents work best before the bird
has been rewarded. And if Kathy didn't mention it in her list, fake fish,
drives them insane. ~ jan

Where do you get fish decoys???

The really cheap ones you can get at www.aqua-mart.com, but there are
fancier version too. I haven't checked around, and the above website may
have them too. You could do a google search on fake fish heron scarer to
find the best prices, if someone here hasn't purchased them recently.

From personal experience, one club member said he had a good time watching
while the heron coming to his pond was total frustrated. ;o) ~ jan

That sounds like a marvelous idea!

Black PVC pipe for hides? The fish use that?

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

I swear by the motion sprinkler, but you may have to put netting up for
awhile, since the heron has fed. Most deterrents work best before the bird
has been rewarded. And if Kathy didn't mention it in her list, fake fish,
drives them insane. ~ jan
=====================
The herons here took the fake fish one time,... learned their lesson and
went back to the real fish ignoring the fake completely.

Either your herons are very very smart or your fish very dumb. ;o) Once a
bird strikes the fish are suppose to dive for cover. The fake fish should
be securely tied down so the bird can't remove and exam it. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

"Katra" wrote:

In article ,
~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:

snip

Where do you get fish decoys???

/snip


When any of my fish go belly up, I just have them stuffed, waterproofed and
put back in the pond attached to a small anchor.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.



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Cichlidiot wrote:

In rec.ponds Benign Vanilla wrote:

"Roy" wrote in message
...
Shoot the darn thing and be done with it..
snip

So is this what you consider good advice for newbies?

Hmm, go on vacation, come back to find a troll named Roy has taken up
residence. BV, don't bother replying to Roy.

Roy's not a troll. Roy's an abusive little child who needs to have his
Internet privileges revoked.

The threads that have the worst signal to noise
ratio are the ones where people reply to the troll there. Seeing similar
trends here when perusing the old messages for the last couple of weeks.

Roy's just taking advantage of longstanding arguments on rec.ponds. Sorry
for the overflow.
--
derek

~ Windsong ~ wrote:


"kathy" wrote in message
ups.com...
Go here
http://ihmp.net/@/y

The device is called a Heron Scarer.
=========================
The herons will learn to fish from right next to the scarer so they don't
get sprinkled. They land and come up behind it. Herons are very
intelligent birds/predators. It's another temporary waste of money where
herons are concerned. If the hose pops or leaks and you're asleep or away
from home for the day, you're water bill will be sky high. Also these
water scarers are useless against King Fishers, fish eating snakes, fish
eating turtles and fish eating bullfrogs.

But Carol, netting isn't any use against most of those, either.
--
derek

"kathy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Carol wrote And in the end only bird netting works

Netting is always an option
but some people really don't want to net their ponds.
For them it spoils the look,

## Yes it does effect the looks of the pond. But so does those tall gawky
water sprayers and wire/string strung all over the place. I didn't want to
net mine either considering they're both in front of my house. However I
was sick and tired of losing koi and GF to these predators. We did try
other methods first. Nothing worked. Perhaps other people can afford the
endless losses and don't get attached to their fish. I do. It was both an
emotional issue as well as a financial issue. When herons and King Fishers
discover your pond all you become is a feeding station for them. Also, if
you're in an area frequented by these birds you will usually (but not
always) also end up with large fish eating water snakes and bullfrogs. At
that point you may as well buy a fish hatchery.

makes it hard to work in the pond,

## To a degree yes, but much easier then picking up the half eaten remains
of your new koi or favorite 5 year old Shubunken. Or realizing all three of
your butterfly koi are GONE when you go out to feed them.

ruins the look of tall marginals,
gets blown off,

## It can't get blown off if it's put on right. You don't just toss it over
the pond.

for me it is a danger for my dogs, younger children, the squirrels
and the birds.

## How can a net possibly be a danger to children and squirrels? Yes,
sometimes small birds will get caught. I release them. That has only
happened a few times in the last 5 years. I would rather a child fall on
the net then into the water and possibly drown. You can get around the
small bird problem as we did by putting a full clean birdbath near the pond.

Herons have stabbed through nets,

## Herons do not STAB fish through nets or any other way. Herons GRAB the
fish with their beaks - they do not stab them!

green herons have wriggled under
nets.

## Then the net was not installed correctly.

If you tangle up a heron in your net and kill it you have some
serious explaining to do to the feds.

## I have never had one tangled up in the net. The net is too tight to
tangle a large bird. A small bird may get a head and wing caught. Also the
Feds do not post the "pond police" in your backyard! LOL!!! You've got to
be kidding me!!!! :-D

Other options DO work for other ponders so I think it is important to
list them as they DO work.

## Anyone can try anything they choose. It all depends on how much they
value their fish. Some people are more interested in the appearance their
ponds make - to each her/his own.

I most always list netting as an option but other options
DO WORK for other ponders.

## That depends on where they live of course,... because herons are only
ONE predator fish keepers have to contend with. I wish someone had told me
these things BEFORE I wasted my time, money and lost so many fish before
getting the nets.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
"Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway."
~~~~~~~ }((((((o
"They laugh because I'm different, I laugh because they're all the same."
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