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12 hours ago
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 45
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 45 |
Well I have my first duck on my pond, I couldn't take a picture cause he would stay underwater it is a diving duck. My best guess looking online is a Pied-Billed Grebe. Now since they eat fish do I take care of him or let him be? Just wanted some peoples thoughts on this.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,598 Likes: 37
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,598 Likes: 37 |
I would let him be, they will eat mostly smaller fish and they are federally protected. http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=6 Diet
Insects, fish, and other aquatic creatures make up the bulk of the Pied-billed Grebe's diet. The birds' heavy bills are adapted to crushing large crustaceans, but Pied-billed Grebes are also opportunistic feeders, preying on a wide variety of aquatic creatures including fish. Like other grebes, Pied-billed Grebes will eat and feed their own feathers to their young. It is thought that these feathers help them regurgitate bones and other non-digestible parts of their diet.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 45
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 45 |
Thats the problem the pond is new and newly stocked so all the fish are smaller.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,692
Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,692 |
On a spicket, over an open fire, Duck are really good! Now I am starting to salivate!
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365 |
I can speak from experience on mallards, wood ducks, and black bellied whistling ducks. Mallards are a pain,,, they creep up and steal my feed, minnows, shrimp, and crawfish at a rate 10X faster than fish. The other 2 species have been fine so far, no complaints.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame  Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1 |
Thats the problem the pond is new and newly stocked so all the fish are smaller. Scare him off by whatever means you can as in rocks, bottle rockets, even a gunshot without hitting him. He'll probably get the message. My guess is the bird being by itself is in transit anyway.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/19/10 08:13 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 3
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 3 |
I agree with Cecil, the grebe will move on... He is heading north to Canada. He'll be gone in a day or two if I had to guess. Grebes don't eat many fish, more inverts.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 350
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 350 |
I have no problems with ducks. Mostly mallards here. The come and go. It's the geese I hate. If you blast one they won't come back for years.
i only wanted to have some fun
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4 |
Biggest mistake I've made to date, They will devour your fish food when feeding and I have never seen one get tired of eating.
Also you will have feathers littering your pond year round.
DONT DO IT !!
'Just my opinion'
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1 |
Some of you may remember in the one pond we use for swimming we had a serious problem with swimmer's itch (duck itch) last summer. At one point the wife had 40 some welts from the parasites that barely penetrate the skin and die leaving an inflamation. We had to give up swimming much to the disappointment of my wife that has bad knees so it's really the only good way for her to exercise.
Anyway last year was the first year for that and it happened shortly after I had a pair of mallards show up and stay on and off. I've had ducks here before but for some reason that was the first time we had a problem. A factor may have been a heavy infestation of Sago Pond weed which probably gave the snails and the parasites something to adhere to. This year I plan on taking care of the Sago Pondweed with Whitecap herbicide once I have enough funds to purchase it!
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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