Great Blue Heron

[rjl420]

Well, it's getting to be that time again, at least in S. Cali. These birds are mostly migratory, I tend to have run-ins every spring and fall. well, with spring here I have been blessed with the pressence of one or more GBHs. what do you guys do to combat them? I know TJ and myself use fishing line to create a grid line above the water line, but do any of you have any other suggestions?

also wanted to post this so that others that are new to the hobby can get a heads up on the notorious GBH.


http://www.dannyburk.com/images/gb%20heron%206.jpg

[blitzen25bm]

hi, i have a pond too, down in san diego. a heron took about 30 of my koi so i dug out my pond deeper so now its about 4 feet deep or so and it still took a couple and it took my 7 inch tancho showa. right now i have netting all around the the pond, i hung it from the patio roof thats over it but it feels like im a cage when im in there. how did you set up the fishing line? i attempted to make a grid over my whole backyard. went out and brought like 3000 feet of fishing line and came home and my backyard was about 100 feet by 40 feet so i just returned it when i came home and measured the yard. -john

[rjl420]

Hey blitzen25bm,

Where in SD are you? I live in temecula and work on friars road RIGHT next to the Q. have you ever been to the fallbrook koi farm? that's where I usually buy all of my koi.

First of all I feel your pain, I've lost countless koi to the GBH. over the course of my ~15 years with ponds, I've completely restocked my pond 3 times (4 - if you count the time I left the hose on overnight :eek: ). since adding the fishing line little over 2 years ago, I have only seen the GBH from afar on rooftops or on the fenceline, but never in or near the pond.

I used fishing line run from fence to fence, left to right. then ran more from the roof of my house to my fence (which is on top of a slope) at about 5' intervals. the line from the roof to the house is higher than the other and lifts the otherset of fishing line up about 2' creating what looks almost like a wireframe dome over my yard. it isn't perfect, and there are gaps, but these predators usually wont enter an area that it feels it won't be able to escape quickly if needed. and with wing spans of up to 15 feet, the approximattly 5'X5' grid forces the heron to have to squeeze into gaps.

as a last resort, I do run fishing line at the water surface as well. I create a grid that sections the pond into smaller sections. I say last resort because supposedly once these birds are in the water, they will not step over obticles. This allows the fish in the pond to get away from the bird while it is "trapped" in an area that fish aren't occupying. luckily I haven't had to test my theory yet.

HTH

[rjl420]

One other option is to run fishing line at varying heights and angles in the GBHs flight path. the problem with that, is that these birds are very smart and can quickly figure out ways around the line. that's why IMHO devices that are supposed to "scare" the birds away are unaffective, the birds figure out how to get around them in the case of the sound blasters (not the sound cards ;) ) or figure out that the statues/figures/aluminum foil creations aren't any threat.

[thom336]

fake herons have to be cunningly placed...they wont have no effect otherwise, but when placed correctly they are extremely effective. herons have a feeding territory, and unless the fake is in their feeding spot, it aint gonna bother them. find out where they are taking your fish from (near enough the exact spot, within afew feet) and place it there.

hope this helps.

[thom336]

to tell the ruth id love to see a heron by my pond, call me mad! but thats natural, they've found a nice spot, and i wouild be proud if one chose my pond! but i'll b releasing my dog tyke if they wanna lay their beaks on my fish....lol. his aggressive for a little guy...

[aquariaddictus]

I spent four winters losing all my prize koi before I figured it out. I staked a net over the water this winter and didn't lose any. I saw 'him' or 'her' do a flyby yesterday.

Last summer, I started losing them despite heavy cover from floating plants. I'm afraid I may have to leave the net on year-round, unless I can come up with something more aesthetically pleasing :(

[rjl420]

Originally posted by thom336
to tell the ruth id love to see a heron by my pond, call me mad! but thats natural, they've found a nice spot, and i wouild be proud if one chose my pond! but i'll b releasing my dog tyke if they wanna lay their beaks on my fish....lol. his aggressive for a little guy...

You're MAD!!!

:D

[thom336]

cheers. lol.

anyway, i have heard that canes placed around the pond, say two or three ft away, and a foot or so apart, can stop herons as it blocks their landing. i dont think it would be too aesthetically pleasing thou.

you could try setting up a shotgun to fire blanks at random intervals as it would scare the herons away with the sound, but not many people seem to go with this method.

i could think of another way to use the shotgun to get rid of the herons, but that idea aint popular either... ;)

[blitzen25bm]

HTH,

i live like a mile or so east of the 94/805 merge. are you talking about california koi farm? i haven't been there. i gotten a few from Koi Koi in el cajon. maybe i would be able to net my whole backyard with fishing line, so 5 feet apart is good? i was thinking 5 inches or so and i would have never been able to do that. trees are also in the way. planning on building a wooden frame and then using "bird block" netting or fishing line to over the pond. sucks about leaving the water on and killing your fish i lost an entire pond before too by doing a quick careless water change. i've seen a heron in the yard but i also wonder if maybe there is a raccoon or something. anyone here try heron scarers? the fake fish you tie into your pond for decoys? the japanese friendship garden in balboa park uses the sprinkler scarers but how do you walk in front of your pond with that? ill go see what i can do on my day off tomorrow. any pics or specs of your pond.? mine was built quickly because i thought a deeper pond will save my fish but so far it helped but its not perfect. so its just a rectangle about 10 feet by 6 feet. 3 feet into the ground and about 1 and a half over ground. john

[rjl420]

Originally posted by blitzen25bm
i live like a mile or so east of the 94/805 merge. are you talking about california koi farm? i haven't been there. i gotten a few from Koi Koi in el cajon.

Yea, sorry. california koi farm, in fallbrook. :)


Originally posted by blitzen25bm
maybe i would be able to net my whole backyard with fishing line, so 5 feet apart is good? i was thinking 5 inches or so and i would have never been able to do that. trees are also in the way. planning on building a wooden frame and then using "bird block" netting or fishing line to over the pond.


Yea, and son't worry about making it perfect, go around the trees the best you can it is more of just a deterent (sp?) so that the heron won't feel secure in your yard. they typically wont enter areas they can't escape from quickly. I still have the long term plans of creating some sort of full prrof patio cover, but I don't want to block any light and have been too lazy to start that kind of project.

Originally posted by blitzen25bm
sucks about leaving the water on and killing your fish i lost an entire pond before too by doing a quick careless water change. i've seen a heron in the yard but i also wonder if maybe there is a raccoon or something. anyone here try heron scarers? the fake fish you tie into your pond for decoys? the japanese friendship garden in balboa park uses the sprinkler scarers but how do you walk in front of your pond with that?

I don't advocate those devices that are supposed to "scare" the GBH. I have statues in my yard that I move on a fairly regular basis and I still saw the gbh in my yard, sometimes RIGHT next to the statue. :rolleyes: and I agree with you about the water thing, it would probably spray you more than the bird. and like I said, these birds are really smart, they will figure a way around if possible.


Originally posted by blitzen25bm
ill go see what i can do on my day off tomorrow. any pics or specs of your pond.? mine was built quickly because i thought a deeper pond will save my fish but so far it helped but its not perfect. so its just a rectangle about 10 feet by 6 feet. 3 feet into the ground and about 1 and a half over ground. john

Yea, I have a few pics, they are a little dated and I've been meaning on posting some newer ones of my pond and my tanks... I guess now I'm just waiting for the full effects of spring. already have my first lily bloom of the season, so it doesn't appear that far off. :)

heres the link (http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rjlfour20/lst?.dir=/Pond+Pictures&.view=t) to my pond pics.

[BBN]

People around here don't care if you shoot a heron. The motto in Southern Illinois is: "if it flies, it dies.":D

[rjl420]

Though I've wanted to shoot those birds in the past, it is illegal (cough) to shoot any migratory bird. and that's federal law. and I also just happen to have a F&G employee a couple houses down :rolleyes:

[BBN]

People around here aren't so adamant on protecting nature. The law would never know if you did it here. They're a pest here anyway. Everywhere!!!

[thom336]

hold up, i wasnt seriously suggesting killing herons! lol.

[BBN]

I won't, but I know that alot around here have met there fate w/ a shotgun.:D

[BBN]

It's funny how such a beautiful bird can be such a pest.

[thom336]

well, its not their fault...we're the ones who leave those tasty lil snacks we call prize koi lying around....

[BBN]

Very true.:D They have to eat like we do I guess.

[125gJoe]

http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
I have heard scientists are almost ready to release a 'new type' of Heron..
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.....The Great Vegan Heron! :D

[GER1023]

They have this one product called a scare crow (no not a man made of straw clothes and hay) it's a motion sensored hose type thing like a sprinkler but if something goes near it it aims and shoot water at them. It might help it might not but hey it might stop them from having you prized koi as they meal. I will try to look for it on the net to show it to you its ment for dogs and cats it should work on a GBH I think.

[GER1023]

Heres a pic of it scaring a dog away.

http://www.pondliner.com/images/sc_cat_dog.jpg

[Dr.Guppy]

Ah yes I think I have heard about these, but I do not know much about them, but I am aware that they have been recommended for use on ponds to scare away preditors, such as herons.

[rjl420]

I hate those things for 2 reasons:

1: it doesn't work, these birds WILL figure out how to get around it or realise it's not a threat.

2: it spays people more than it does animals. and it doesn't aim, it just randomly sprays in all directions. really, half the time it wouldn't even recognize cats or dogs (and I'm assuming the heron as well) but it would always spray at me when i was testing.

3: and I thought of a 3rd, you have to keep your hose turned on all the tim unless you have a dedicated waterline that you can use. :rolleyes:


I've also tried ultrasonic noise deterents (sp?) and they don't seem to work either.

really some type of netting or cover seems to be the only viable option, everything else would just be throwing money at the short term solution.

[TJcanada]

the never ending topic... preditor deterants..

look here for some opinions on Herons: heron thread (http://boards.aaquaria.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=698)

[GER1023]

There was a story about a year back. This guy lived in flrida I believe an just built a brand new pond well the GBH came and stared eating his Koi. Well he called wildlife services and they chewed him out for calling to see if they could do anything. He saw it one day ran out there with his arms raised yelling and the hereon went on the defensive so he ran back into the house screaming. He eventaully emptied the pond of all the Koi to put more cover on the water surface got his Koi back and It was back up and running again I think. It was funny though. Get a gaurd do like a big english mastiff. They get to big for a hereon to even try to mess with them. But then they cost alot and eat alot.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by GER1023
..... Get a gaurd do like a big english mastiff. They get to big for a hereon to even try to mess with them. But then they cost alot and eat alot.
http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
My miniature Dachshund doesn't eat much.. I bet she'd have a lot of fun scaring off the herons.... She doesn't know her size, and thinks she is one of the big dogs. :D

[tricksterpup]

Great Blue Heron: if worse comes to worse.. i hear they taste like Chicken.. ;)

[GER1023]

Yeah but youll get fined up the hill and possible jail time they are a protected species by state law if im not mistaken. Itll be the last bird youll want to eat.