Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations OSPREYS! They are killing me!

I live along the coast about 7 miles from the ocean and 1 mile from the bay. Every buoy on the bay has an Osprey nest and chicks this time of year. I also have a small well stocked pond that has become the primary hunting ground for at least 2 Ospreys. I was home for a week and lost on average 10 fish a day (mostly HBSB) and on some days more. I have tried a great horned owl decoy, gun fire in the air, human scarecrow, with no results. Based on the numbers I am seeing being taken I would say that I have lost more than half of my HBSB. What should I do? I do not want to harm them���..wel��l I DO�� but can�t and shouldn�t THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL as well as federally protected. It is not their fault I have built the perfect place for them to hunt but something has got to give or our pond is going to be decimated! The morning I came back to work I had two Osprey hit the pond at the same time both caught a HBSB and one of them landed next to the great horned owl decoy and had breakfast! It was all I could do to keep from grabbing my Remington SP-10ga and sending dose of lead Poison down range!

salt, do they dive bomb into the pond?

How do they get the fish?

Tough situation here.

Yes they are a fish hawk with talons with incredible eye sight. They hover above the pond and wait until they see a fish then dive down and snatch it up! I watched one go almost under to get one but most of the time it is a snatch on the surface with both feet

I wonder if adding dye to the water would have any effect? Make it harder to see the fish. Just a casual, non fact based suggestion.

It would be nice if you could stock a free/cheap fish that the Ospreys would prefer over the HSB. Of course it would have to be something that would fit into your management without too much trouble.

If there is such a fish at least the birds would consistently thin the population.

How large is your pond? If it's not to awful big running some brightly colors lines across the pond would do the trick. Other than dye as mentioned that's the only thing I can think of.

The Osprey is a pretty efficient fish-killer. Pictures in my bird book show that they have "spikes" projecting out of the pad of their claw that "stabs" the prey while the rest of the claw grasps it. I have Ospreys also, but the show they put on and the fantastic splashes they make in their dive is worth the loss of the fish. Plus, once the babies are flying, they leave again for the year. I have had them dive within 10 yards of me, not afraid at all!