Big koi question

[carolinaguy]

Pictures would help and they will be forthcoming soon. Our pond sits next to our deck and porch, so that approach is undesirable for a heron but not impossible. That said the access to that side is so restricted that it is not an easy solution for heron. Then there is the dog who barks at anything that moves. Our back yard is surrounded by our fence, so the pond is at least 70 feet away and hard to observe from the lake. No heron has ever landed in our yard. The lake itself is stocked with bass, carp and crappies I think and offers a simpler food source in competition. The other three sides of the pond are equipped with plant sumps and the skimmer housing that holds a bird back at least three feet and are heavily planted obscuring the view at a herons eye level. The corners are blocked with an ornate oriental fence sittin on the pond wall, and the pond is elevated 18 inches above the outside ground. If the bird mounts the wall then the surface is 8 inches below his feet, and a heron cannot stab effectively below its feet too deeply. The pond walls are vertical and drop to about 30 inches below the surface. We maintain about 14 to 18 inches of turbidity, you can measure this with a Secchi disk, so the fish are obscured unless they surface. Then there are the two machine guns turrets, ....kidding.

 

[Faebinder]

Agree, with Addy1, if you don’t want to constantly be adjusting your battle plans a net well up off the pond is the only solution. The herons will figure everything else out.

Herons may prefer to walk up to a pond but they have no problem landing directly on the edge. Fishing line, motion sprinklers, decoys, noise makers, they will figure all that stuff out eventually.

Agree, decoys eventually fail... all of them. Net the pond.

 

[Faebinder]

We had our first heron land in our yard this spring. We never thought it would happen because we are so enclosed by fences and trees - not much room to take off in a hurry. But there he was, standing in the edge of the pond. I was so sure we were done for, but oddly he never came back - that we saw. My husband saw him out the living room window and thought I had moved one of my fake herons into the pond. When he realized what he was seeing, he ran for his phone but got there just in time to see him take off.

We have natural ponds directly to the east and west of us and a rookery about 2 miles further east, so they fly overhead all day long. We've always thought the same thing - they won't land here - space is too small for them to feel comfortable. This is from last year, but you can see we are in a pretty tight landing space. He was standing right on the ledge in front of the waterfall, just gazing into the pond.

The only predator who's ever taken fish from our pond was a skunk. He got two of our prettiest koi in two days - made dinner for himself right on the rocks next to the pond and left a pile of scales as his calling card.

View attachment 114308

People underestimate skunks. That was one of the predators who came for my pond. Deepness didn't matter. Always left the pond stinkier.

 

[addy1]

Our pond sits next to our deck and porch, so that approach is undesirable for a heron

We were at a house, the pond snugged up tight to the house, a tight fence next to it, they have pictures of the heron eating one of their fish.

 

[Jhn]

All that stuff obviously works for you carolinaguy since they don’t come around at least that you have seen. Having your pond near your house and fences surrounding it and placed where it is not very will definitely cut down on heron visits.

My old pond occasionally got heron visitors, but in the 15 years or so I had that pond I could count on one hand the number of fish I lost to herons. That pond was up under some very tall trees against a 6’ tall privacy fence and was guarded by a large black labrador that spent most of her time out in the backyard. The current pond is out in the open a fence around it( required by law), so it is a smorgasbord for herons. They have figured a way through everything other than a net.

I’ve seen herons land directly in ponds, on a shelf, log in the pond, so needing to walk up to hunting grounds is just a myth. Water depth certainly helps predation, if the fish are smart enough to stay deep in the middle. Of course, fish aren’t, so although the heron can’t wade into the pond it patiently waits by the pond edge for the fish to wander over or regurgitates food into the pond to attract them over.

Just an fyi, @carolinaguy, it sounds like your heron foiling designs are quite effective.That being said, Herons can most certainly hunt below their feet effectively, I watch them in nature hunt off fallen trees, floating docks a foot above the water snagging fish. I see them doing that as often as I see them wading in the shallows.

 

[Lisak1]

Of course, fish aren’t

True - they aren't smart enough and they have learned to trust so they may scatter and hide initially but the bird is a patient, crafty hunter.

 

[Jhn]

True - they aren't smart enough and they have learned to trust so they may scatter and hide initially but the bird is a patient, crafty hunter.

My fish don’t really scatter or use the fish caves until one of them is eaten or wounded. Then they realize the tall gangly thing next to the pond isn’t there too feed them.

I pretty much just stopped buying expensive fish, ( except for the orange koi with the reticulated scales, which coincidentally was a heron snack a month ago). I recently put a gill net up high over the deep end of the pond (thanks @addy1 )where the large orfes reside. So at least the heron can’t get them. If the koi wander from under the net into the shallow end then that is on them.

I really need to teach my turtles to bite heron toes like they do mine when I get into the pond. Maybe catch a heron and tie some crab parts on its feet.

 

[Lisak1]

tie some crab parts on its feet.

Please do and be sure to video! I'm not sure which part would be more amusing - you catching the heron or the turtles nibbling on his toes!

 

[Tula]

I have a shade sail high up over the pond, for shade, but I'd like to think it blocks the heron's view of the pond. This year I also added tall metal fencing stakes around the pond and attached my mesh net to it, it's probably three feet above the pond and drapes on the side...but doesn't come completely to the ground.

I would have bought a bigger wide weave net, but since I already had this one...used what I had. I also have the black wrought iron fencing from Lowes around the pond.

I think they're fairly safe from a heron ( can't be completely sure ).....but the pond is ugly as heck

 

[addy1]

I like the wide weave net, mine has 5ish inch holes. Not really a eye sore, easy to pull aside to work on the pond. No small bird, frog, snake etc gets caught in it.

The lilies iris etc can grow without issue. The spiders do love to weave their webs in the net.

 

[Jhn]

Please do and be sure to video! I'm not sure which part would be more amusing - you catching the heron or the turtles nibbling on his toes!

Haha, probably me. I would have to distract it with a large fish while I sneak up to tie crab parts on it. Not that i would ever be able to get that close to it.

 

[Sushi Prohibited]

For the first time, a blue heron went after my koi. He got some of the smaller fish. There was his white poop bombs all over my deck and roof. I saw him with the motion detector sprinkler (Scarecrow) going off and the bird didn't move from the edge of the pond. I scared him off and he came back later.

I have since put netting over the pond and will get a decoy too. Next I'll try talk radio playing during the day. (Do they attack at night?)

Will he eventually move on or will I need to keep the netting up permanently?

Hate herons!
Thanks.

 

[Lisak1]

Will he eventually move on or will I need to keep the netting up permanently?

I don't have proof of this myself, but I've heard it said that koi have built in GPS - once they spot a potential hunting ground they "drop a pin" and will return again and again. Although we had a heron stop by one time thing spring but he hasn't been back since. Maybe he judged our koi as inferior to the bass and bluegills he can pull out of the natural ponds nearby?