How to protect against owls?

[HARO]

Kingfishers are another bird to keep in mind, small, seldom seen, and very efficient at snatching fish from a pond.
John

 

[talal101]

Thank you for all the thoughts and opinions. I definitely agree about the new fish maybe hiding, however, the fact that quite of few other comets are missing is what has me more suspicious. I agree with one of the posters that an owl has more difficulty without light, however, our flood lights are providing a great opportunity. They turn the front yard into day light basically.

I think I am going to try the more natural approach first, getting some floating plants and creating caves in the pond. That seems to be serving the lower pond well. If that doesn't work, then we'll try nets. All of our plants were established by previous owners, so I guess I need to find out where you buy pond plants

Owls are nocturnal, they barely need any light to hunt at all....your flood lights are not making a difference, otherwise they would be hunting in the day. I think creating caves will be your first and best line of defense....the fish tend to just float aimlessly at night and are very good pickings for whatever is getting them (if anything is getting them), giving them a cave will give them somewhere to sleep, believe me, they will use it.
Good luck!

Kingfishers are another bird to keep in mind, small, seldom seen, and very efficient at snatching fish from a pond.
John

We don't get king fishers in Canada do we? I have never seen any....maybe they are very stealthy indeed! I have also noticed that animals on the east and west coast tend to vary quite a bit so maybe only you guys are getting it.

 

[talal101]

When new fish are missing, its easy to jump to conclusions. It is a safe bet that they are hiding, shy, and down deep

It would be a shame if a good guy like an owl not only gets the blame for doing what it does well, chasing varmints and ends up with a broken wing colliding and tangled in a net

From a logic point of view, owls rely on hearing to hunt after dark. Fish don't make any noise. Fish are in water and an owls vision will make them ineffective at hunting as in poor light they cannot figure refraction to strike accurate, especially fish that are down deep...

Regards, andy
http://swglist.wordpress.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/

Agreed

 

[HARO]

We don't get king fishers in Canada do we? I have never seen any....maybe they are very stealthy indeed! I have also noticed that animals on the east and west coast tend to vary quite a bit so maybe only you guys are getting it.

The Belted Kingfisher is found from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, from the southernmost states to the Arctic. As I said, seldom seen! They will roost on a branch or the eave of a house, often far above the pond, and before you even know they are there, another fish is gone. BTW, they prefer fish in the 4 - 6" range, but when they're hungry they will make exceptions.
John

 

[talal101]

The Belted Kingfisher is found from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, from the southernmost states to the Arctic. As I said, seldom seen! They will roost on a branch or the eave of a house, often far above the pond, and before you even know they are there, another fish is gone. BTW, they prefer fish in the 4 - 6" range, but when they're hungry they will make exceptions.
John

Thanks john, I made a quick google search and found out about the belted fisher, quite a pretty bird....have NEVER seen. Most likely as you said, very stealthy. We rarely get blue-jays here, but when we do they are breath taking.

 

[HARO]

You probably get more Stellers jays, I would imagine. And Magpies. Beautiful birds, and not above snatching a pretty goldfish from the surface of a pond!
John

 

[talal101]

You probably get more Stellers jays, I would imagine. And Magpies. Beautiful birds, and not above snatching a pretty goldfish from the surface of a pond!
John

Those stellars jays are GORGEOUS, but have never seen them in my 19 years of living here.....just the regular blue jays for sure. UGH don't even start me on magpie's, I strongly dislike them, although very pretty, they are obnoxious at 8 a.m and my poor kitty is horrified. We have this magpie (sometimes 2-3) that will follow my cat around the neighborhood and swoop down and try to get him, I usually find him huddled under a car or tree with his eyes all big and black, waiting to be picked up and carried inside......they are just sooo mean.

 

[HARO]

I was born in the Old Country, which also has Magpies. My dad took a youngster from the nest, and it became my pet. I could leave the window open, and it would fly out looking for shiny trinkets and pebbles to bring back, occasionally a penny. Big money back then! For a five-year old, anyway.
John

 

[j.w]

I love the Stellers Jay, how they sound so defensive whenever we or one of our cats get too near. Never noticed any of the magpies here ever. The ones that annoy us are the Northern Flickers.................that rap,rap,rap,rapping sound on our gutters in the wee hours of the morning can drive you crazy

 

[HARO]

I love the Stellers Jay, how they sound so defensive whenever we or one of our cats get too near. Never noticed any of the magpies here ever. The ones that annoy us are the Northern Flickers.................that rap,rap,rap,rapping sound on our gutters in the wee hours of the morning can drive you crazy

Or craziER?
John

 

[j.w]

I left that opening for you to take advantage of........wasn't that nice of me............I knew you would

 

[talal101]

I was born in the Old Country, which also has Magpies. My dad took a youngster from the nest, and it became my pet. I could leave the window open, and it would fly out looking for shiny trinkets and pebbles to bring back, occasionally a penny. Big money back then! For a five-year old, anyway.
John

that sounds adorable, what a lovely story. I especially like the part about them getting a penny, it made my day.

J.W: crows and ravens also irritate the heck out of me....sometimes you get a murder of them in the neighborhood and they just cause the biggest ruckus ever.

 

[j.w]

We've got crows building a nest in a big Doug Fir on our property. If you go near it they threaten your life! They had one of my cats slinking down hiding under bushes as they taunted her w/ loud squawking sounds. They are such smarty pants tho. Would love to have had a bird like you did as a kid that could come and go as it pleased.
Here's a cute video of a kitten and a crow.

 

[talal101]

We've got crows building a nest in a big Doug Fir on our property. If you go near it they threaten your life! They had one of my cats slinking down hiding under bushes as they taunted her w/ loud squawking sounds. They are such smarty pants tho. Would love to have had a bird like you did as a kid that could come and go as it pleased.
Here's a cute video of a kitten and a crow.

AWWWW that just melted my heart. Those darn crows can be down right scary! and not to mention they really pack a bite

 

[j.w]

They are sooooooooooo smart. They use tools to figure out how to get what they want like food etc.