the heron is here stalking again if anybody wants to watch

[addy1]

here again!

 

[j.w]

Went to look to see if he was still there and just saw you and the gator out there. Did he stay long and just catch bugs or did he walk the pond again? I like the looks of that gator floating around. Looks like he's hungry and hunting for heron! Wonder if the bird eyeballed him.

 

[addy1]

He stayed about an hour jw, eating in the gardens, crickets those big black yucky ones. It went once to the west edge of the pond, got with in 7-8 feet went into full alert, stood for a while, then fluttered up to the bog, walked down the middle of the bog 3 feet from the edge of the pond, the whole time watching the pond. Walked fast too. Went back out into the gardens and ate more crickets and bugs then took off.

Think this maryland heron knows an alligator will eat it........lol

 

[j.w]

I wonder if he's been somewhere in his travels where he's seen them maybe? If some head south for the winter he could have been to Florida........although I think if he has been there he would have stayed there w/ all the year round supply of fish!

 

[addy1]

"Although many herons migrate through the Bay region, some great blues remain in the Bay area year-round. These waterbirds use a variety of different feeding methods to procure their primary diet of small fish, which they swallow head first. They also eat frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, crawfish, small birds, rodents and insects."

That is what the Chesapeake bay field office says, so the sucker may be one of those that stays all winter. So with our abundance of crickets, they love the moisture and my mulch, it may just keep coming back for snacks.

 

[Alvarero]

I hope the heron doesn't come to Naples. It won't be very welcome in my backyard. Time to get my motion detector scarecrow going. I like it when my friends and family approach the pond without being warned only to get blasted.

 

[addy1]

I hope the heron doesn't come to Naples. It won't be very welcome in my backyard. Time to get my motion detector scarecrow going. I like it when my friends and family approach the pond without being warned only to get blasted.

It is not welcome, but rather than kill it I would rather watch to see if we can keep it out of the pond. There will be others so this is my test bird. I really can't kill anything..............and my honey says you can buy a lot of fish with the 10k fine if you get caught.

 

[CometKeith]

Hey Addy, Do you think if you stuck to goldfish you would be having these problems?

 

[fishin4cars]

???? Addy only has goldfish, confused?

 

[addy1]

Hey Addy, Do you think if you stuck to goldfish you would be having these problems?

Gold fish and shubunkins only comet keith.........some have grown to around 8 inches in size. The one long fin with fins is probably 12 inches (rescue fish)

???? Addy only has goldfish, confused?

yep only gold fish and shubunkins............very pretty lil fish I am sure the heron would help prune the herd if I let it. But it would get the big slower guys first.

 

[sissy]

You will will have to do something to deter them before next spring or they may tell there friends about the feast at your house and then start having babes there and you sure don't want that .I have a pesky owl now .

 

[addy1]

For sure sissy, we have owls, hawks, fox, even saw a bald eagle fly over. Most likely they will nest by the river, like they do now.

 

[sissy]

we think the owl here took some of my neighbors fish but he has not bother mine because I have the screen frames over my pond and he can not get to the fish .I told her about the owl hanging around .

 

[addy1]

The owls have stayed out in the woods so far. The great horned ones.

 

[sissy]

These I think are barn owls .He or she has landed on my front porch railing a couple of times and keep trying to get a pic but dogs bark and he flies away before I can stop them from barking