Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Birds do stock void waters

DD,
A couple of thoughts, ducks don't usually eat fish so the connection might be a little more remote than a heron for example. Also, BG might not be a good example, if there is animal husbandry, they might start by building the food chain with a hardy forage fish. Maybe a certain species of fish lay eggs with a protective coat allowing them to pass through a certain bird.

In my neighborhood there are fish that walk from one pool to another. The more I pay attention the more I, at least think, I learn. Though, paying attention seems to get harder the older I get.

Dang Rad, that idea of a protective coat will keep me from drinking any more creek water.

10/4 on the attention span; what were we discussing?

you might be a pondmeister if...........

Who? Me?

I am guessing that what is found in the water in my neighborhood is what makes those fish walk.

DD1, I'm on record as a disbeliever in the transferal of fish eggs on bird feet. I'm also skeptical about accidentally dropped fish being a common way for nature to stock ponds. Birds instinctively carrying fish to adjacent ponds seems more reasonable. The odds are too great with accidental dropping of fish, but if it's intentional then the behavior might be repeated dozens of times allowing at least one survivor of each sex to establish in the new pond.

I just love the image of you trying to stick fish eggs to a dead duck. Thank you for that.

GW, if you're talking about quick, mass stocking, I totally agree. It would take months to many years to stock a void pond by accidentally dropping fish, depending on the proximity of the void pond to stocked waters. If the void pond is isolated enough, it may never be stocked, even by 1 lonely minnow.

I have observed accidental dropping of fish, and I have observed deliberate dropping of fish. The deliberate dropping incidents were "muggings". A bird catches a fish, and gets mugged by another bird. To avoid injury and to lighten itself, the fish carrying bird simply drops the fish.

I agree on the egg thing. While certainly possible, it's not likely. I'm sure it happens somewhere in the world several time a day, but only because there are millions of birds, fish, and ponds in existence.