Herons have a
muddle of habits, some go in for neat extermination jobs, others
may be picky, leaving the whole body of a fish and only eating the
tail section. Go round a lake after herons have been and you will
find a lot of variation in kill habits... Yes, they will fly around
and around a location on many days before even landing on a tall
tree close, for a more careful look... Very keen eyesight and
hearing
After a serious heron attack, its normal for fish to go hiding for
weeks, so you never know what has happened.... on a well planted
pond with a lot of cover, most fish survive though you will notice
the dramatic difference in their usual behaviour and wonder
why.
Here's a few
notes collected from observations and other folks experience
1) Predator Nets.... cheaper than losing koi, downside,
local animals can get trapped in it, snared. Not very pleasant
explaining to your neighbor why their pedigree cat or dog lost its
life or leg through strangulation. Predator nets are probably the
most cost effective barrier method, a large mesh of around 4"
should allow most varieties of plants to grow through it without
tangling the mesh. Smaller meshes tend to be a mess with plants,
strangled pets, and dead frogs by the time Spring
arrives...
2) Barrier Method.... Suspend strong fish line taut, at a
height of 12" over and around the pond, herons hate trip wires. An
elegantly simple way to baffle a dim fishbag on stilts, it often
works, many folk have reported seeing herons 'baffled' this way....
a near invisible line that they can't see, bump into, cannot step
over without tripping, is enough to stop them.... I guess herons
have yet to master the skill to sneak along the ground without the
use of their long leggedy stilts...
3) Hiding
Places... Step up cover within the pond... water
lilies.... big bits of pipe, float large sheets of black polythene
(trash bags will do) trippy stuff for tangling up predators...
hiding places for fish. Surprisingly, many black plastic objects,
when submersed become virtually invisible, in a natural setting, so
the idea of this clutter in pond is not as bad as it
sounds.
I like this method, it creates a lot of hiding places and is
virtually invisible to the usually attractive pond setting, it
makes it very difficult for the likes of persistent herons and
raccoons when they raid.... useful in winter when foliage is bare
and fish want somewhere quiet, to hibernate. Bare crystal clear
ponds must be an easy target for predators, the garish and brightly
coloured fish must just shout loud and clear, 'sushi bar' to every
itinerant fish eating scoundrel passing within sight
overhead.
4) Pond
Design... When you make a pond, make 45° sides, herons
have gangly legs, they like 'easy walking' conditions, they hate
'trippy' pond surroundings... The one common weakness of predatory
birds is the vulnerability of their gangly long legs, they
absolutely rely on an easy landing place, and an easy stroll into
the pond, handy shallow terraces are a big help....
5) Trapping... I can't be so fiendish, I cant advise you
put out snares... a simple loop of fish line can lock onto a
predators leg. Nasty way to die, though.
6) Shooting... Not everyone in the world live in areas
where herons are protected, or rare... I can't recommend a .22 air
rifle, a bit politically incorrect, even though a heron is easy to
hit at 200' with a decent scope, unfair, too easy I guess. Anyone
who has used a rifle properly could hit a quarter at 100 feet so
for the squeamish, clipping some tail feathers is possible .....or
hit a bucket placed beside the pond loud and close enough to
frighten the bejasus out of the vile fish bag... that is an
effective clean way....Alas rifles in most peoples hands are
counter productive, you can waste a lot of time waiting for the
opportunity to use it, to learn how to be competent with a rifle
and the consequences of a bad tempered person with a lethal tool is
well, unpopular...
7) Sprinklers... For the flash and the opulent, linking a
motion detector and a sprinkler might provide some amusement to
scare off the dratted bird. Or, a hose with a timer, that briefly
blasts water every 15 minutes or so, enough to startle a pest... if
the risk of absent mind folk getting a drenching is bothersome,
perhaps the motion detector could be linked with an emergency
service strobe light, that would be enough to freak most long
leggedy villains away
8) Aquatic Plants... A heavily planted pond makes life
very difficult for predators, even though the dumber fish will
always be taken first, shy timid (smart) fish and the little 'uns
ought to find good hidey holes easy... rafts of aquatic iris, water
lilies make life difficult for hunters to find fish, let alone move
around, risk stumbling
9) Fish
Feeding Routine.... Have a special food signal, like tap a
stone three times at feed time. You don't want your fish to
associate every visitor to your pond, with a free meal.... one day
it will be a heron, looking for freebies...
10) Heron
Statue... what a novel idea, picturesque even. They always
seem to be coming on the market, second hand. Never heard anyone
had any success with them, other than folk who sell them. Now I
have heard of someone linking an owl statue to a motion detector,
they swore that worked... that would be a hoot if it tooted when
motion was detected.... A convincing statue of a cat, or a dog
moved about the pond area, that might have some
effect
11) Sonic
Guns.... A promising new device coming onto the market....
sonic 'guns' that fire a narrow band of extreme noise in a confined
direction. Link this to a motion detector and it really will do the
job... herons are sensitive and nervous, a violent sound like that
pointed at the pond area will blow them away when they trigger the
sonic gun. Because of the controlled direction of the sonics, not
likely to bother neighbours, much.... Very promising... Another
device that can be activated by a motion detector is a strobe
light, the sort that emergency vehicles use, that can drive off
predatory birds which are unable to hunt with such a distraction...
has been reported to keep fish ponds free of attacks recently, not
a big deal to find and install.
12) Baseball Bats.... Herons by nature are incredibly
careful hunters, you won't get within 50 feet with a bat. Anyone
thinking of trying such a method will quickly learn the bird is a
lot smarter than them, that will be just sooooo
embarrassing....
13) Fake
Crocodile Heads... might well work in Southern areas where
crocodiles are well known predators. Spectacular episodes of
lurking gators, flashing of teeth, boiling water as the gators
charge upon unwary herons would stick in the mind of the cunning
and sneaky heron. However, many herons are not familiar with
crocodiles at a young stage, or have never seen them before so in
many cases it just won't be noticed, except, in areas where
crocodiles are well known...
14) Tin
Traps.... A 'scarer' for discouraging prowlers could be a
tin trap, a big can with some large round stones to rattle loud
within, precariously perched, attached to a fishing line trip wire
along likely approaches. Very effective after dark and around
morning and dusk...
15) Shishi Odoshi.... Another critter scaring method,
which may or may not work against predatory birds but is supposedly
effective against deer is the Japanese 'shishi odoshi'....If it is
a little out of the way without too close neighbours, this old
japanese design for scaring deer might be effective, made out of a
few large pieces of bamboo and relying on a trickle of water to
keep it going, it's supposed to work on deer. Moose might be a
different matter... It could drive you nuts if you made it a little
loud...
Checkout:
http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/...i_odoshi.shtml
16) Koi
Decoys'.... Folk are reporting they work. Aquascape
Inc. fake koi which you can moor in the pond in an open area...
looking like a dozey sitting 'duck' the heron sneaks up, batters at
it a few times, tries to yank the koi plus anchor out of the water,
only to discover it can't.... by which time all the real koi are
well alerted and in hiding, having a good snicker, I hope.
Definitely one confirmed report from a chap who watched a heron
outwitted by a decoy battering at the faux koi on his koi
pond, wrestling with the anchored faux fish, that can be said to
contribute to improved safety for pond fish, provide faux
sushi.
17) Trusty "Moggy".... Since adopting a wonderful little
grey cat, that has an astonishing capacity for commanding its
territory and all that it surveys, especially through the twilight
hours I've never seen any heron land.
Yup, an over zealous, pouncy whirling dervish of a killer moggy
that spends its time dreaming of such gigantic drumsticks would be
an effective deterrent to an experienced heron.
The memory of a whirling mass of tooth and claws bounding three
foot into the air towards their neck would remind them to not go
close to a well stocked sushi bar where a well clawed and fanged
guardian roams
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The time when predatory birds go pond hopping is often determined
by local factors, drought, floods or freezes have made difficult or
clouded their usual hunting places, early morning and fog is often
a factor to make them bold enough to go close to places where ponds
are, compact sushi bars are preferred....
Herons are creatures of habit, they will 'tour' their favourite
water holes. When they spot a new pond with fish they will add that
pond to their schedule and turn up like clockwork with the same
routine...
Their eyesight is extremely good, it is something of a big
advantage if the fish turn out to be garishly bright koi or
goldfish... Not unlike a neon sign shouting 'sushi bar' loud and
clear...
The loathsome fishbag on stilts might circle a promising pond a
couple of times about 400 yards away, checking the whole area then
appear to disappear over the horizon... They will disappear if they
have spotted anything lurking, perhaps a cat, or fox is
about...
Several minutes later, they will overfly it once or twice, gliding
slow, to bank and turn and seem to go away. Five minutes or so they
then come very slow, steady and at a low height from a completely
different angle as if to take by surprise any skulking entity...
hedgehopping, literally...
Should they spot one little thing that frets them, they will abort
landing...
They want the pond all to themselves, with no complications like
dogs, or people about...
Only then, when they are absolutely sure it's safe to plunder, will
they come in and land in a high place overlooking the pond. Perhaps
a chimney, or a small tree close to the pond.
Herons often explore ponds in gardens during times of poor
visibility, fog, at first light when their usual haunts have become
difficult, for example when floods have clouded waters, or when ice
has formed, the conditions for likely heron attacks can be
predicted if you keep an eye on the weather
forecast...
When they have landed at a high vantage point overlooking the pond
area, they really take their time and look with those beady little
dark eyes, to make absolutely sure nothing is lurking before
flapping to the best landing spot close to the
pond...
I say they, because it is not unusual for them to go about in
pairs...
Should your pond be netted they will go to some lengths to try and
get within, finding or forcing any gap that they can... When they
are safely well within the net, that is a good time to,
errr....
... Surprise Them!
