Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations water turkeys

Is it just me or does it seem like the number of water turkeys is on the rise? I counted twelve today on my pond and last year the most I counted was six at a time. Has a consensus been reached on just how bad these birds are?

Horrible kill em all I say. Better (less birds) on clients ponds this year. James they must have all went to TX.

They are eating machines I have seen them eat multiple fish up to about 15 inches long in a matter of minutes.

Ok - I'll bite. What is a water turkey?

cormorant is another name for water turkey. I have tried in vain to shoot them but I am a very poor shot. Does anyone else have a way of killing them or at least deterring them?

If they are legal to shoot, I am guessing that you could find volunteers that have good aim and shoot safetly. The second virtue can not be over-emphasized!

My buddy that has a couple of ponds East of Dallas has a permit to take care of them. IIRC he removed slightly more than 200 last Spring. He's supposed to bury them after killing them. O.K. sure! When I was visiting last Spring, one landed on a snag in the pond in front of the house. 17 HMR did the job just fine. He has to keep a log book of every bird taken, date, who shot it, and how it was killed. A flock of almost a dozen anhingas flew over too, but they kept on going.

I guess I need to take my gun and go to the range. If you were going to choose a gun and ammo what would they be?

M-60; 1 in 5 tracer round.

James I'll bet they are on the rise at your pond because you aren't making them feel unwelcome. IMO the best rifles are .17 cal and .222 cal. The best shotgun is 12ga. full or modified choke with #4 shot. Both guns are useful for control.

Their population is down based on most reports including my own.

I favor my Ruger 10/22, but I can practice at home (and I have used this gun for 20 years). Nothing like the .17 but its cheap and just effective if there is no wind and you know your drop at long range. A lot is your preference and familiarity with the gun. I just bought a 77/44 but this is too much for a bird and no more accurate than a 22.

I have a 223 and a twelve gage I fired the twelve gage at least twelve times today and missed every time. I have been on two pheasant hunting trips and have not killed a pheasant either. Sunil where can I get an m60 with the tracer rounds? I'm almost serious.

I saw a blunderbuss on t.v. I may try that next if i cant find an m60 with the tracer rounds.

James:

I guess that you haven't had a lot of practice with the shotgun. Here's a cheap and easy way to practice, and you don't have to leave the house.

First off, are you right or left eye dominant? You should be shouldering the gun on whatever side of your body that your dominant eye is.

Your shotgun is a 12 ga, right? If so, you can use the AA Mag-Light. If not, you gotta go with the AAA model.

Now:

1) Make sure it's (the gun) unloaded.
2) Check it again.
3) Get a AA MagLight flashlight
4) If your gun has removable choke tubes, either put in a cylinder choke, or just remove the choke tube.
5) If the gun doesn't have a choke tube in it, carefully slide the flashlight (turned on of course, and focused to the smallest beam possible) into the muzzle of the shotgun, adding electrical tape to the butt end of the flashlight so it's got a little bit of resistance when inserted into the shotgun. If the gun doesn't have removable chokes, no tape will be necessary.
6) Keeping both eyes open, hold the gun with the butt slightly above your belt, and the light pointed at an upper corner of a room in the house. The butt of the gun could be slightly in front of your body.
7) Shoulder the shotgun, looking at the corner of the room with the flashlight beam; Do NOT look at the gun. Did the light bounce all over the place? If so, do it again, and again, and again until you can shoulder the gun without looking at it, and without the light bouncing all over the place, keeping the light in the corner of the room, putting your head on the stock just as if you were getting ready to shoot. Now, with the light still in the corner of the room, look down the barrel or rib of the shotgun. What does the sight picture look like? If the shotgun has a mid bead, does it line up with the bead at the end of the gun like a figure 8? Tell me what sight picture you see.

8) Plan on doing this 50 times a night. That will give you muscle memory, and you will be able to shoulder the gun without thinking about it.

Once you tell me what your sight picture is, I can help you fine tune where it hits. To do that, you'll need to actually shoot the gun.

Before you go shooting, there is a part 2 to practice.......

We have seen at least a 50 fold increase in WT this year. The most we have had at the ponds before were 1 or 2. Several times this year there have been 50 or more at a time. Large flocks. They are big birds and not easy to dispatch. Here is one with a 12+ inch SMB.

That thing is disgusting. I hate them with a passion. I hope none have visited my pond, but if they are in Jackson area, I'm sure I have had them. I remember Meadowlark buying a water cannon that goes off randomly; after that, none ever came around.
So, doc, maybe just buy a water cannon.

I'm not speaking from experience or anything, but I've heard that a Benelli SBE II, 3 1/2 mag is the most effective deterrant.

esshup I will take your advice and get the gun from the farm Friday and start doing whatever you say

Bruce bring your gun!

I think using a high speed rifle such as 0.17 222 223 has a disantvatedge do to safety reasons.
The bullet bounces of the water surface, and keeps going for miles, do to low angel on impact.
Shotgun would be my pick.
If they are like chormorants, it should be easy/fun hunting.
What we do is puting up siluet decoys, and youst wait for them to come.
Best to build some kind of camoflage to sit behind, but if you don't move at all theyl still come to you.
Decoy easy to make out of plyewood or cardboard paint black.
Make one look like standing guard one look like drying vings, makes them think its safe to land on the spot.
Buy the time they realise its decoys they are almost standing stil in air with wings spread (full flaps staling) with in shot gun range.
We don' make a pick up until end of hunt those that drop around us seem to even atract more birds.

The two decoys are 15 years old still working well, upper is guard.
Lower has the drying ving behind it that I press in to the slott.

Werry easy to pick out the chest on bird, when stil warm,
we keep that, and the legs, taste great and one bird makes nice meal

If you're eating cormorants, I gotta give you credit! I've eaten mergansers and they push my limits of tolerance. I cannot even imagine what cormorant must taste like!

Iff you skin them varm it's wery easy to pick of the fat (yellow) on the flesh, then there is no fishy taste.
If left with skin on for some time, it's common to leave the meat in a bowl of milk or a vinegare mix over night in the frige.
Same as with any fish eating bird, only the gras eaters(vegeterians) are eaten without this treatment these days.
Its not only tastfull but considerd healthy meat (omega 3)

I've tried skinning them and removing the fat along with putting them in milk and I could never get them to taste good. One of the biggest issues we have in my area is the fish eating birds are packed full of contaminants as they eat lots of lots of fish and the contaminants build up in the birds over time.

Well I'm sure I could serve you a tastefull meal, off a bird or seamamal, if our paths ever cross I'll give it try.
As for contaminants it's in the guts and not the meat it self, thats whats the we are told anyways.
If the fish they prey on is full of it I'd be more worried about eating the fish.
As for poisoning or health isues deases I think all ocurrences in this country has been with farmed animal/fish.
That is except from bequrel levels in some, that rocketted sky high after the Tsjernobyl nucelear powerplant melt down in -85, for a wile we where warned not to eat this and that, then the government lifted the level off what was considerd dangeroues, and all of a souden, not dangerous any more? (except for pregnant woman should eat limited amounts)

I have heard that the wildlife around Chornobyl is thriving like never before. Appearently people are far more toxic than radioactivity.

I didn't get this fat just by eating donuts... I am always willing to try something new to eat!



Yeah, I saw a special on that. It is one of the few areas in Russia where red stag, wild boar and many other animal populations are doing great. It was amazing to see how fast nature can recover if humans just leave it alone for a few decades...

This resipie looks like one of my own.
Scroll down to coment # 10 in the link
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/01/recipe-wood-duck-dish-worth-whistling-about

James Holt, I believe it is illegal to shoot Cormorants in the state of Texas. IIRC, they are a migratory bird, and just like Herons, are a protected species. Like Esshup alluded to, a permit is required. I am all for getting rid of the rotten things, but consider the possibility of consequences if someone in the know believes differently. With that said, my suggestion and what I personally like to use on unwanted pond pests is a .17 HMR rifle. They are accurate, not much louder than a 22LR, have an effective range of at least a 125 yards, and the bullet won't richochet near as badly as a 22LR. If noise isn't an issue, a .223 rifle is nice. Use frangible bullets http://www.remington.com/products/ammuni...or-varmint.aspx and overtravel won't be a concern. I live in a populated area and these rifle cartridges fit in nicely. I like the short range shotgun suggestions mentioned, but find it hard to get close enough to my pests. There is no cover around my ponds, which could be the problem...du

For anyone living in Texas that would like to shoot cormorants a Texas hunting licence and a twenty five dollar permit are required both of which are easy to obtain. Go to the Texas Parks and wildlife site and print off the permit for cormerant page and mail it in with your hunting licence number and twenty five dollars. I continue to do this but don't know if it is required if you are merely scaring them due to being such a poor shot. The permit is for your property and not for yourself and so once you have the permit anyone with a valid license can legally kill them on your property. Each year that I have done this you have to report how many you shot for the year. I have reported every zero and I think they are no longer afraid of me and my gun.

I was wrong the license fee is 25 dollars and the permit fee is 13

thanks for the info Dr holt..du

The parasites that live in the intestinal tract of cormorants are they a threat to the fish in the pond and if they are can anything be done about it?

I have been able to find information on the internet that they carry tapeworms and another intestinal parasite both of which can be transferred to fish. As a pond owner can anything be done? Does adding redears help? Do these parasites even have a lifecycle that goes through a snail?

I have loads of those little green herons at my pond. They nest there every year. How much damage do they do to the fish?

Yes, there is anecdotal evidence that the addition of RES to a pond can help reduce pond parasites, including those that may come in through fish eating birds...

Little green herons eat fish, usually much smaller ones than GBH. I think they also focus a lot more of frogs. At least I have seen that through personal observation. Depending on the size of your pond, a large number could affect your fish population. Particularly if you have conditions that make their ability to prey on fish easier.

Little green herons eat fish, usually much smaller ones than GBH. I think they also focus a lot more of frogs. At least I have seen that through personal observation. Depending on the size of your pond, a large number could affect your fish population. Particularly if you have conditions that make their ability to prey on fish easier. [/quote]

My ponds about 5 or 6 acres. There is about 10 of them that hang out at the upper end of the pond where its got some thick bushes for them to nest in. I try to leave most of the ducks and birds alone if they are really hurting anything. I try to get rid of the geese and great blue herons. Ive seen GBH eat catfish that where 12" long before. I have 4 ponds and this pond is the only one that I have ever seen Green Herons in so I have just left them alone so far. I have a osprey that shows up from time to time that I think does more damage than they do. He leaves all the bones laying on top of my fish feeders.

I guess you have to define your tolerance level... If it gets past that limit, you have to decided if you want to SSS.

Watch for fishing tournaments near your pond. I am near Lake Fork and when there are tourneys, they chase the birds off to nearby ponds.

.17 HMR best. Shoot at waterline. Most of bird below water. Bullet trajectory very (very) flat out to 100 yards plus. Good for otters as well.

I get Herons, sandhill cranes and cattle egrets on my pond. I shoot bottle rockets at them and my son screams at them. They will fly off but they know the buffet is still here, so they always come back. The sandhill cranes have a season here but I know I cannot shoot the herons or egrets as they are considered migratory. If they stay at your house for a week or so, that should make them a tenant and not migratory anymore so you should be able to shoot them.

I was at one of my ponds Saturday. I looked up and 4 water turkeys were coming in for a landing. When they saw me they veered off and flew away. I wonder how many times that happens when I'm not there.

I probably saw 2,000 water turkeys today fishing on the Potomac. They were having a field day eating all the alewife and blueback herring the were spawning at the fall line. It was interesting watching them fight with each other when 1 would surface with a half swallowed fish. I was amazed at how large a fish they could swallow!