Too many birds! Help please.

[Sirvince]

I have attracted 16 duck, 5 herons (2 dark 3 white), 4 night herons,

2 or more kingfishers , 4 red tail hawks, and who knows what else. I don't know what to do. I dont want to kill them. However they are destroying my water quality and my fish will not come up and feed . Except for the ones over two feet long. Also some one dumped in 16 red ear sliders. Any ideas are welcome.

 

[GBBUDD]

Ok i'm a bit confused it looks like your pond is good size but i a liner yet there's tires in the water?

You can always take away the flight path install some tree's into the ground and install golf netting if your pond is real big. except your visitors not much you can do . but you could add a pond die but now no one will get to see the fish

 

[Mmathis]

How to get rid of the birds? Realistically, not sure you can do anything about the birds. Maybe someone else has ideas. How do you know that someone dumped 16 red eared sliders?

 

[Sirvince]

Ok i'm a bit confused it looks like your pond is good size but i a liner yet there's tires in the water?

You can always take away the flight path install some tree's into the ground and install golf netting if your pond is real big. except your visitors not much you can do . but you could add a pond die but now no one will get to see the fish

The pond was my father in law's. I took over 3 years after he passed. The pond was damaged and black when I got it. It no longer hold as much as it use too. I also don't know about its construction. The tires hold fish, plants and stuff so I kept them. Please explain why this is confusing, I had no experience with ponds before taking over. Also the pond is 1/4 of an acre I can't net it and it has too many trees for me to take care of as it is.

 

[Sirvince]

How to get rid of the birds? Realistically, not sure you can do anything about the birds. Maybe someone else has ideas. How do you know that someone dumped 16 red eared sliders?

Because there are 16 of them now. You can see 4 or 5 in the pic with the ducks.

 

[GBBUDD]

the black material laying on the ground looks like hpde i believe it is a light weight type of liner. this is next tot he tire. and the reason i question the tire most of those involved in a fish pond would not see a tire as a healthy addition to the ecosytem

 

[Sirvince]

the black material laying on the ground looks like hpde i believe it is a light weight type of liner. this is next tot he tire. and the reason i question the tire most of those involved in a fish pond would not see a tire as a healthy addition to the ecosytem

Oh I understand, I think any harm has been done they have been there for years.

 

[brokensword]

other than netting, not much you can do. Get rid of the birds and more will come. And you CAN net, it'll just be a challenge. You could try and get something like a 'scarecrow' motion sensor sprinkler and place them around your pond. With motion, a jet of water will shoot and may scare them away. You could also get an electric fence to keep away the inevitable raccoons and minks and otters that will eventually find your pond, if such exist anywhere near you. Or you can just treat this as a natural pond, rehome any fish you don't want to lose to predators, fill with game/pond fish and let Nature take its course. If you want a koi/goldfish pond, you'll have to protect the fish.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

I have attracted 16 duck, 5 herons (2 dark 3 white), 4 night herons, View attachment 136603View attachment 1366022 or more kingfishers , 4 red tail hawks, and who knows what else. I don't know what to do. I dont want to kill them. However they are destroying my water quality and my fish will not come up and feed . Except for the ones over two feet long. Also some one dumped in 16 red ear sliders. Any ideas are welcome.

the only way is to break out the gun and start blasting. then more will come and you will have to shoot them also, it is a never ending cycle. get low value fish and remember it is the circle of life.

 

[Jhn]

I would guess it is mostly the ducks and maybe (but unlikely)the turtles polluting the pond. It is going to be a futile effort to try and control nature without some sort of net around the pond.

If water quality is the main concern, I would add a large upflow bog around the pond somewhere to deal with the degrading water quality, but it won’t be a particularly cheap addition on a pond that size.

I personally wouldn’t go shooting at wildlife around your pond, one it is illegal to kill herons, two it’s a good way to put a hole in your pond liner if it has one, thirdly as mentioned it is a pointless endeavor as more herons/turtles and ducks will just show up.

Unlikely, the turtles were dumped in the pond, maybe initially a few, but sixteen is a lot to dump in there. In all likelihood they just wandered and found it. The turtles can be trapped and relocated, not that difficult, not sure on your state laws regarding red ear sliders though.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have seen videos of larger ponds where they run HD fishing line across the pond not to the point where it is every 5 feet or anything but on angles making it very uneven hardly fool proof but look at 2:34 in this video

 

[JamieB]

If your biggest problem is water quality, start by improving or adding filtration. But to me, that looks fairly clear, for that large of a pond. Next, to protect your fish, you either have to net it, or set up protection at least in the area you feed the fish, along with adding more places that are safe for fish to hide. The tires leach chemicals into the water, and will continue to do so for a very long time. Plain unglazed terra-cotta pots, pvc pipes, and new never used heavy duty plastic bins such as the pans used for oil changes or the heavy duty kitty litter bins are good substitutes. The clay pots if set on their sides, provide places for smaller fish to hide. They can also be used for growing plants. On the pvc pipe, you can get some very large diameter pipe and set them for the larger fish to hide. These are to provide shelter from herons. If the pipe edges are roughy from cutting, you’ll want to do a quick sanding to smooth sharp edges.
The kitty litter and oil pans are ideal for growing plants, which will make the fish feel safer, provide food, and places for the fry to hide.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

I have attracted 16 duck, 5 herons (2 dark 3 white), 4 night herons, View attachment 136603View attachment 1366022 or more kingfishers , 4 red tail hawks, and who knows what else. I don't know what to do. I dont want to kill them. However they are destroying my water quality and my fish will not come up and feed . Except for the ones over two feet long. Also some one dumped in 16 red ear sliders. Any ideas are welcome.

i dig your pond the wildlife in and around it make it pretty. i love those turtles

 

[Tula]

Well, I love looking at the variety of wild life you've got in your pond, but understand your concerns. As others have mentioned, you can relocate the turtles.....allowing it's legal where you live.

I think ducks probably contribute the most to water quality issues. I don't know what is legal in your area...perhaps you could contact your local fish and wildlife office and ask if you're allowed to relocate ducks. If so, then you'd have to look into how to keep them from returning.

I've seen very large koi pods ( breeders ) that have fishing line strung over them to prevent birds of prey from taking the fish.

 

[GBBUDD]

DUCKS ARE POOP MASTERS just watching a couple ducklings in my pond it was crazy how much and often they relive them selves. you can surely help your pond with a filter. here's a video that can give you an idea of what you can do but to duplicate your talking big bucks the aqaublocks alone run close to 50 bucks each