I went away for a weekend and came home to find a heron or egret had emolished a pond kept soley for fancy fantails pets! I've never had this problem before and now that the birds know there is food here, they come every day. I put a large canopy with mesh curtains around my large raised pond with Koi, but I've dismantled my smaller pond until I come up with a solution to the bird problem. It was a small 100 gallon one backed up against the house with a waterfall feature. I'm not sure how to cover it or keep the birds away without ruining the whole look of it. I'm surely not going to restock with fish until I find a way to protect them from the predators. Has anyone had any luck with fake birds or fishing line?

thanks

The only way i can think of stopping birds getting into ponds is with a barrier you could put this just at water level if you used plastic lattice but it may give the birds something to sit on while having lunch. another idea is to enclose the pond in a gazebo dosent have to be fancy some shade cloth on poles or lattice so they still get sunlight. one way we discoraged birds from the fruit trees is to use a radio on talkback not sure if this would help. but seems the birds think people are around and keep their distance. good luck.

get one of those motion active water spriklers
http://www.perigee.net/~jrjohns/web13.html
http://www.safepetproducts.com/product.asp?specific=jnnriqo8

The scarecrow device is a good one and fishing line will work, but netting is sure fire when it comes to Herons.

By the way, they do not like being harrassed, hit with water from a devise like a super soaker or poped with a paint ball gun either. Even then it takes a few day's of repetitive action to run them off!

These birds are very smart to by the way. Don't underestimate them. They will try different stealth techniques from dawn to dusk. They fly by first and then come in from a different direction. I've watched them sit up in a high tree and watch and then drop around the back side as close as feasible away from the house only to come in from behind me around the house useing terrain for stealth.

They will test the devices and nets and still look for a way through or around.

I can tell you that herons are very smart and sneaky. In our neck of the woods(PA) they are also expensive if you should happen to kill one($10,000 fine). I have tried the sprinkler system and they found if they moved slow enough the system would not trigger. I have tried the decoy but they eventually figured that one out also. Don't forget that herons mate with other herons and your decoy may look like a playboy bunny to him. The one thing that the herons have not liked is the windsock I made from holographic tape. It moves in the slightest wind and crackles when it moves. As a backup, I keep a mesh net over the pond until the plants have a chance to grow and give cover to the fish. I got the tape from www.gemplers.com.

Good luck finding a solution! Maybe if you left the pond empty for a few months they would decide that there was no more food and leave it alone?

Oh, I feel for you–I just lost a couple comets lately. Our bird was so brazen, he came into our yard with a lab and a pit bull! They didnt even faze him.

This is the pond at my parents' house and I went down this weekend and put bird netting over it. It was just cheap Bird Block I got at Home Depot for about 10 bucks. It only covered one half of our pond but it was the shallow end with lots of overhanging bushes and trees. Herons wont stand in water to eat fish; they will only stand on teh side so keept he water level low and make sure there is nothing to stand on. The netting, while not strong, is enough to scare them away.

Our bird was very bold. My sister chased it off with her airsoft gun and he still had the guts to come back later. They are protected here and it is a crime to kill or injure them.

Good luck with getting rid of yours.

I finally found something that seems to work! I bought a couple of big kites that are shaped like Toucan Birds and strung them on fishing line across my pool and pond area. They flap in the wind constantly and seem to scare away the egrets and herons. At least nobody has dared to land anymore. It's whimsical looking as well so it doesn't destroy the look of my garden.
I got mine at Sam's Club, but I imagine any kite store would sell them, or even online.

PONDerosa

I remembered reading that on here (maybe from you?) and I wanted to try that as well! But then I wondered, if the darn bird isnt even afraid of the dogs, maybe it wouldnt be afraid of a kite either?

Well, if your pitt is like mine there is no reason to be afraid! She normally whines and hides behind Lee when another dog barks at her on our walk! I think I need to change her name from Sweetie to Chicken!

LOL Yes she is quite a baby and a pushover. Shes gentle but large and loooks intimidating. I thought it was great when our neighbor was playing and loving all over her and then finally asked my mom what kind of dog she was. She was shocked when my mom said a pit bull. Just goes to show how their bad reputation is unwarranted.