I noticed recently that we have some type of swimming duck in our pond. I have tried to identify it online but have been unable to do that yet..
The "thing" has a white head with a bill and swims very fast underwater. It comes up for air much like a turtle does.. just a bit of his head is out of the water then he disappears again...
I am certain he is eating my fish..
What is this critter and how do I get rid of it?
Thanks in advance!
JJ
12 gauge, #4 or 5 shot!!!!
I am not sure about the white head, but I know Double crested Cormorants are causing a lot of problems in Ohio (and just about everywhere else). They swim as you describe.
http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/oh/061105_great_lakes.htm
Doohan, if the picture fits, it is a crested cormorant or some other type of cormorant. They are commonly called water turkeys. They are called a lot of other things too. Yep, if it has a sharp bill and dives, it's not a vegetarian.
It is against federal law to harm it. However, it is also against the law to shoot a chicken hawk that is getting your chickens. I would take care of business but keep my mouth shut. BTW, they don't taste just like chicken.
Doohan, before you start blasting, you ought to figure out what kind of bird you are dealing with. Right now, we have a lot of ducks that are called "divers" because they dive to eat plants from the bottom of the lake. It sounds to me like you might have Hooded Mergansers which eat invertibrates and other small animals.
As a group, I think we really need to get much better at identifying species that are not game fish or whitetail deer. I certainly don't want to be inflamatory about this. But to jump from the description Doohan gave to cormorants is like someone describing a LMB and us jumping to the conclusion that it is a alligator gar.
Bravo, Norm...how right you are! Thank you for the diplomatic tune-up.
...any help?
Brettski, I has seen little friends of your little friend there at my pond twice. A lone male for about a month's time 2 years ago, and a mixed pair one day only last week. I am not a waterfowl hunter or expert; I pegged them as Buffleheads.
Thanks for the pics guys.. I am afraid Bob-O is correct. It is certainly a Cormorant of some type. When we goto the dock and feed the fish, our little "Loch Ness Monster" gives us a fly-by.
We chased it around the pond tonight and he just wont leave. Scooter, one of our Jack Russels almost got him in the confusion.
Pretty bird but he has been here for at least 5 days now.
Yep, Theo...cute little bugger, ain't it? (must be really smart...look at that head!) I'm on the same page Re; waterfowl hunter or expert. My bride and I just really enjoy novice birding...it's a main driving force for our Nature Preserve project. ....except for those nasty-ass C geese
Doohan,
Hey I would be willing to bet that if you have a Cormorant, that he won't stay very long. Most of the time they are passing by. Don't get me wrong a well stocked pond is a great source of food for them. I typically see them in larger lakes and retention ponds on a regular basis. Like everyone has said, there isn't a really good way to get rid of them that is legal. They say, "Dogs are mans best friend!" Good luck!
I just read this article... man, doesnt sound good! Those "cute" little things can eat 1lb of fish per day!
article
To be sure, and certainly light heartedly, my "cute little bugger" reference is to the Hooded Merganser pictured in my post above. But, it should also be noted that they will eat small fish, apparently mostly minnows.
Audobon link Given the option between a Browning and binoculars, I lean to bino's.
(edit: credit is to be given to Norm Kopecky for bringing a spectacular waterfowl to our attention. I envy Theo. If I had a pair of these magnificent birds on my pond, I would feel blessed)
Right now, we have Hooded Mergansers, Ringnecks, Redheads and Canvasbacks. We have had Buffelheads and Ruddys. The migration is in full swing so we can find about anything this time of year.
I really appreciate the way the magazine focuses on more than just fish. We are making ecosystems and there are so many fun things we can enjoy about our lakes besides just the fish.
Purple Martins, Bluebirds, swallows, bats, butterflies, wildflowers, turtles, wood ducks, amphibians and others can all bring so much more interest to our lakes. We had a wonderful thread about dragonflies and damselflies. Anyone else raising solitary wasps?
Migration is a fun time.
Fish are hard to watch for viewing pleasure, unless in an aquarium. So, having some above-pond action is gratifying while it lasts.
I checked my National Geograhic bird book this morning, the western double crested comorant typically has white tuffs on it's head while the eastern double crested cormorant typically has darker tuffs on it's head. So Doohan, your unwelcome guest could be a comorant.
The migration is in full swing here as well, for the last several weeks we have had 150-200 ducks a day on the pond. (Way too much fertilizer IMO)There have been lots of lesser scaup, ringnecks, and widgeons. We have also had a few hooded mergansers, pintails, wood ducks, buffelheads, and even a few blue wing teal already.
That's true Steve, but isn't Ohio way out of its range? Your dad must be having a ball this time of year.
This is the best time of year for watching waterfowl. They are in full breeding plumage now and are starting their breeding flights.
Doohan, can you give us more details about your bird? Exactly where is the white on the head? Are there any other colors or white areas on the bird?
The Double-crested Cormorant is the most common Cormorant in this country by far. The Great Cormorant lives on our eastern coastal waters while the Brant's and Pelagic Cormorants live on the western coastal waters. The Olivaceous Cormorant lives in the Texas and Louisiana coastal areas.
That's true Steve, but isn't Ohio way out of its range? Your dad must be having a ball this time of year.
This is the best time of year for watching waterfowl. They are in full breeding plumage now and are starting their breeding flights.
Norm, Ohio is probably out of it's range but I would never say never. I can't remember what it was but my folks had a bird at that pond a couple of years ago that is only native to the west coast. It was apparently way off course.
My dad does love this time of year, he doesn't fish much but he does carve duck decoys in his spare time and is an avid bird watcher. In fact he keeps the pond closed to fishing from ice-out until the end of the spring duck migration so the ducks don't get disturbed off the pond. They also keep a diary of both the numbers and type of ducks they have visit every spring.
They're starting to have some problems with them here in Michigan too! It's an invasion, man your guns!!!
I'm different than many here...I actually feed and provide nesting boxes for Canada geese, along with wood ducks.
So far, in 3 years, only 1 pair of geese has spent any real time on the pond, although others come along...and get chased off for their troubles.
I figure, come fall, if they get too thick, my buddies and I know zachary how to thin them down a bit.
Wifey just stepped in her first pile of goose droppings Sunday...our views on the flying/swimming guests may have gotten changed a bit.
I actually don't mind the occasional cormorant. From what I've seen, they take a fair number of culling sized LMB so I actually see them as somewhat beneficial. A flock of them working in tandem is another matter altogether.
The past three years running, I've had a flock of geese visit the pond for about a week during early December
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from what I can see he is blackish on top and white on the bottom. He has a little white around his eyes and rarely is ontop of the water.. Only comes up to get air then is back down again. He has a very long neck too..
He absolutely is not a merganser.. I am 100% sure it is a cormorant. I hope he leaves soon!
Mostly geese are stopping in every morning.. I really dont mind them althogh I dont want them 24/7...
I have a very healthy shiner population that made it through winter.. Looks like most of the fatheads are gone tho..
My son caught a shiner while BG fishing the other night.. it had to be 6"+ long...
Doohan, it does sound like a double-crested cormorant in first year plumage. We get them occassionally. I don't kill them but a shot from a .22 that hits the water close to them usually scares them away.
Doohan,
From personal, very painful experience, let me say that you do not want a cormorant, aka water turkey, to stay any time at all on your place. Take action and do not just hope it leaves. They kiss and tell and before long you will have many. They eat 1.5 pounds of fish per bird per day. Do the math...100 pounds of fish are nothing to a flock of them.
Your 6 inch shiners will be gone in no time if you allow this bird and its buddies to set up shop.
Do we still have ML's soapbox?
Did you ever have any for 'viewing' this year man?
Does he look like this?
When I stocked my first pond, about 25 years ago, the old man that I got the fish from told me "Boy, you'd better shoot every damn long billed bird that comes near these fish. If you don't you'll be back buying some more.". He's been dead for awhile. I don't remember his name but I haven't forgotten his advice.
I don't get very many but ML appears to be right in their flyway. I hope to never become a water turkey expert. I was feeding my fish a couple of years ago when a couple of them came by. I bet they circled for 10 minutes hoping I would leave. I didn't dare leave but bet it was tough on them.
Originally posted by JBL:
Does he look like this?
That's him! Barrington J. Bufflehead!
Have you seen him lately? He owes me money...
Originally posted by burgermeister:
Do we still have ML's soapbox?
Did you ever have any for 'viewing' this year man? Burger, you would be disappointed if I failed to castigate the water turkey, now wouldn't you?
If I'm nothing else, I'm consistent....sometimes.
I was going to invite you up for some viewing but get this....not one single water turkey all season...no one....nada. Happy days are here again, all the skys are blue again...
Theo, you should post your picture of the Tilapia eating water turkey...a real classic which I have saved and will make a prominent part of my web site if I ever feel comfortable about putting it back up again.
Originally posted by JBL:
Does he look like this?
nope
like this... they say he is a juvenile one..
You need to utilize the cormorants for fishing.