Herons are such a nuisance here they have changed the way they dig ponds. The bank is dug straight down to a "shelf" 2 or 3 feet below. The shelf is 5 or so feet wide clear around the pond and then drops straight down to deeper water. When at full pool, the shelf has from 2 to 6 inches of water on it. If you plant tall shallow water plants on the shelf, there should be no where for the herons to stand to hunt fish and the water in the pond is deep enough to keep the plants from spreading out too far. Mine just filled last year and I'm trying to decide which plants to plant. I have no idea why herons are still protected. They sure are not in short supply.
