Heron netting 101

[j.w]

Ok and just as soon as I finish blowing up my balloon

 

[j.w]

HaH, had a visit yesterday from the heron and he stood by my pond looking up,down, around and around at the net I put up. Then he jumped up on a bush and sat there looking some more. He then walked around the front of the pond slowly to the other end. Stood there checking out from top to bottom then backed up a few steps and turned around and flew off. Yay 1 win for me and you lose Mr Heron! My net is working great :banana:

 

[addy1]

I just love that netting, mr heron flies over every day, never stops anymore! Not an eye sore, high above the water so you can work on the pond without removing. And mine is handling the snow fall just fine!

YEAH for JW Mr Heron ZERO Ms JW ONE!

 

[j.w]

Yep I agree and we got some snow today and the net was doing just fine w/ it. So,so glad I put that up and like you said w/ it up high like that I can just lift the bottom edge of hanging part of net, throw it up top and voila I'm in the pond working. Gives me such peace of mind all the time knowing my fish buddies are protected and it does not interfere w/ seeing anything

 

[addy1]

You did such a neat job! come and redo mine! Nice snow btw

 

[j.w]

Yours looks fine. You just need to pull it nice and tight or maybe you already did and then it won't sag much when it gets wet or freezing snow collects on it. I still need to test mine w/ when it snows then freezes and then snows some more. Wondering if it will get too heavy w/ over and over new snow/freezing?

 

[addy1]

The new piece of netting, finer threads, did not even move with the snow load and freezing rain. I had it just placed over posts, no attachments. The main pond net, heavier thread weave, did sag some. I found out yesterday one of my support posts is loose i.e. it is about ready to fall over which let the net sag as much as it did. The snow is melting so going to drive in a new post today tighten it all up. Once the snow melted, off the net, it sprung right back up into place. Darn herons are still around so I can not pull it. They overwinter here, which you would think would not happen.

I had herons trying to fish every day all summer before I put up this net, now they just fly over, they fly over every morning and night during the summer. We are in their rookery to feed flight path. They must see it and decide they can do nothing to the pond.

 

[j.w]

They stay here all year also and I'm sure they fly right over all these ponds around here that everyone has so nicely set up...............for them..............they think. Not getting our netted fish tho, uh,uh no way. Ha Ha Mr heron, go down to the rivers and lakes to find your sushi now

 

[tenchi]

I hope the herons don't get tangled in the net, if they do, good luck. The net is black, looks like a Japanese mist net used to live trap birds.

 

[j.w]

Heron's always fly down to the ground around the pond and walk around looking at the net from top to bottom. Don't think they are just gonna dive bomb straight into the net. They are way more cautious then that. They remind me of Columbo the detective checking out every little detail before they make their move. The net has 4" square holes so small birds can fly right through it safely. Now I suppose if a hawk were to dive down on the pond he might get tangled. The net is actually a gill net that fisherman use that is white to begin w/ but I had them coat it w/ black weather proof coating to make it last longer.

 

[addy1]

Mine has been up for two summers, no bird has been tangled in it. We have hawks, owls, falcons, herons, tons of song birds and a occasional eagle. The netting is too wide to trap small birds. I watched the heron attempt to fish from my pond for a full summer, it came just about every day. It never fly's right into the pond, it always stalked up slowly to the edge of the pond, usually taking around 15 minutes if not longer. Once the net was up, they fly over almost every day, none have landed, for two summers now.

 

[gliebig]

I'm going to have to tackle this project this year as my current netting sucks. What are ya'll using for posts? I want to use something that isn't to unatractive.

 

[EricV]

I use garden flag holders which stand about 18" high. I only keep a net on through the spring until the pond cover fills in.

Edit: I e-mailed the company everyone raves about and didn't get a response. I ended up with a 2" spacing bird net from Amazon instead.

 

[mrsclem]

My ponds are raised. I have been using the green metal t-posts to hold my netting. Right now I'm building pvc frames to go over the ponds so I can use window screen to keep out small debris and then plastic in the winter. Definitely not natural looking.

 

[j.w]

I use these but not that great to look at.

Maybe this would look nicer: