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Thread: A bit Worrying

  1. #1

    A bit Worrying

    Caught this guy on the security cam this afternoon. In six years I've never had any heron problems, so I hope the koi have the sense to stay down deep if he comes back. They're quite curious of any bird that comes to drink, usually pigeons or magpies, and normally come up to investigate.
    Better get my covers on quick


    19,000 litres
    Nexus 320 with Dracodrum and submersible UV
    Blue Eco 320
    Eazy Pod on skimmer
    Dura+ 10kW Heat Pump
    15 koi

  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    get a big cat or gun. no seriously you may have a problem there balder. good luck mate

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Mature Champion AdamKoi78's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    get a big cat or gun. no seriously you may have a problem there balder. good luck mate
    One of these fred?

    download (11).jpg

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  6. #4
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Nanasai richsugden's Avatar
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    Am sure your not allowed to keep lions


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    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Yeah mate. That would see it off ha ha

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    I hate bully s. And that heron is bullying the koi. So let the lion of its leash ha ha.

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  12. #7
    Junior Member Rank = Fry salukihound's Avatar
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    Could you run some fishing line around the frame to help stop it entering your pond ... its just an emergency stop gap mind .. until you get a curtain sorted out .. The heron will be back .. they always seem to return ....

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  14. #8
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai Designer1's Avatar
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    Never a good image that Balder - I feel your pain....

    Looking at your pond, he may just be weighing up his chances, the fact the ponds raised, no where to wade in (by the look of it) and the pergola cover - all these things will make his life so much harder and far from risk free.
    I have heard that they will land on the water, and fish that way, but his escape route would be seriously hampered by the wooden structure overhead - and getting caught is not an option they entertain.

    I've just completed my pond, and within 2 weeks of adding fish, I've been visited 4/5 times. Even to the point where the adult is bringing its young around! They haven't had any fish, but they are clever birds, and very patient. My pond like yours is raised 2 feet, pergola over the deck, not pond, scarecrow installed, water level is a foot or so lower than the surrounding brickwork, spinning silver sparkly outdoor decoration thingy (which apparently they hate), all of which hopefully make fishing elsewhere a more attractive option. I've added my covers now anyway, so......

    The gun option, I couldn't possibly condone on the internet - but Daystate make some great air rifles

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    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion Ant62's Avatar
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    A friend of mine had his first heron visit this summer in gods know how years of keeping koi...
    Lost a few small ones and several had injuries...
    Anyway there where a family of crows about that started attacking the heron and touch wood it as not been back....

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  18. #10
    I've never has any heron problems in five years with this pond, but the previous pond was attacked a few times. It too was raised with a pergola, but it wasn't until I covered the top with reed and wrapped electric fence around the posts that I felt safe. The scarecrow sprinkler was useless, I had video of a heron standing in front of it washing its feathers.
    This pond is higher with steep sides, no shelf and six feet deep, the koi are a lot bigger too. I find it almost impossible to catch a 60cm koi with a huge net on a 3 metre pole, so maybe the heron is going to struggle too.
    19,000 litres
    Nexus 320 with Dracodrum and submersible UV
    Blue Eco 320
    Eazy Pod on skimmer
    Dura+ 10kW Heat Pump
    15 koi

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  20. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion Ant62's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by balder View Post
    I've never has any heron problems in five years with this pond, but the previous pond was attacked a few times. It too was raised with a pergola, but it wasn't until I covered the top with reed and wrapped electric fence around the posts that I felt safe. The scarecrow sprinkler was useless, I had video of a heron standing in front of it washing its feathers.
    This pond is higher with steep sides, no shelf and six feet deep, the koi are a lot bigger too. I find it almost impossible to catch a 60cm koi with a huge net on a 3 metre pole, so maybe the heron is going to struggle too.
    I feel for you as ive seen what they do on a fishery....

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  22. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai gt350's Avatar
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    I have a 3 ft walled pond with a pagola and fishing wire around the sides,my cameras have not picked up any herons so far fingers crossed, is there any thing that has proven to keep herons away?

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  24. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion GHOSTDOG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gt350 View Post
    I have a 3 ft walled pond with a pagola and fishing wire around the sides,my cameras have not picked up any herons so far fingers crossed, is there any thing that has proven to keep herons away?
    Shotgun


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  26. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai gt350's Avatar
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    Lol has crossed my mind but they are protected birds.think once they know your fish are there they WILL come back.

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    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Gray's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GHOSTDOG View Post
    Shotgun


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    Works around my area A bit Worrying Herons aren't keen on them.

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  30. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray View Post
    Works around my area A bit Worrying Herons aren't keen on them.
    What the lion or shotgun haha.
    I would nt care about protection.
    Bang dead. I look at it this way. Humans are protected. But someone is going to hurt the kids.
    He or she is going down. By any means. To me you have a right to protect what is yours. A bit Worrying

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  32. #17
    Member Rank = Tosai j1m's Avatar
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    I had a dreaded heron eye up my pond back in the summer.
    got some stainless steel mig wire and put strans above the pond that seemed to do the trick.
    but then i put the lids on
    i'll wait to see what happens in the spring .
    but they have a memory so watch this space. and they are so patient they will stand for hours waiting for a fish to come close to grab or worse spike.

  33. #18
    The fact that it is raised, no where to wade, unable to land in the water won't matter one iota, my pond is a metre out the ground and almost a 750cms in the ground, no ledges, he's been a few times, I've watched him swoop in and land on the surrounding wall, I've seen him on the camera, on the lawn and jumping up onto the wall, with a few flaps of his wings, I had security camera footage of him walking around the wall before leaping into the pond and using his wings as paddles, surfing across the top of the pond, I have also had marks on the bottom of the pond consistent with the him chasing koi along the bottom of the pond, despite being told they do not go in a pond without ledges for him to wade into, they don't go under water.

    Had the MIL staying with us a couple of years ago, she said how much she likes staying as her room looked over the back garden, "there's always so much activity in your garden in the mornings, do you know I watched a Heron looking at your Koi for 25 minutes this morning"

    Don't be fooled into thinking they visit in the daytime only, I watched him once on the camera, early morning, wound the footage back to see how long he had been there, viewed it back before first light and he was there, as soon as morning broke you could see him.

  34. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Doitsusanke View Post
    The fact that it is raised, no where to wade, unable to land in the water won't matter one iota, my pond is a metre out the ground and almost a 750cms in the ground, no ledges, he's been a few times, I've watched him swoop in and land on the surrounding wall, I've seen him on the camera, on the lawn and jumping up onto the wall, with a few flaps of his wings, I had security camera footage of him walking around the wall before leaping into the pond and using his wings as paddles, surfing across the top of the pond, I have also had marks on the bottom of the pond consistent with the him chasing koi along the bottom of the pond, despite being told they do not go in a pond without ledges for him to wade into, they don't go under water.

    Had the MIL staying with us a couple of years ago, she said how much she likes staying as her room looked over the back garden, "there's always so much activity in your garden in the mornings, do you know I watched a Heron looking at your Koi for 25 minutes this morning"

    Don't be fooled into thinking they visit in the daytime only, I watched him once on the camera, early morning, wound the footage back to see how long he had been there, viewed it back before first light and he was there, as soon as morning broke you could see him.
    That's some heron, free diving to the bottom of an 8.5 metre deep pond, or did he have a scuba tank? A bit Worrying
    19,000 litres
    Nexus 320 with Dracodrum and submersible UV
    Blue Eco 320
    Eazy Pod on skimmer
    Dura+ 10kW Heat Pump
    15 koi

  35. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Gray's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    What the lion or shotgun haha.
    I would nt care about protection.
    Bang dead. I look at it this way. Humans are protected. But someone is going to hurt the kids.
    He or she is going down. By any means. To me you have a right to protect what is yours. A bit Worrying

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
    Well I guess either around my area would work well!

    I might get some funny looks uncaging a Lion on a summer's afternoon though...

    We have shoots going on around us a lot so a few more cartridges being popped wouldn't sound out of place A bit Worrying

    Joking aside, you're right about protection, couldn't agree more. It's a shame the law sees it differently on occasion.

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