Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Blue Herons

I quit worrying about Blue Herons and focus on Cormorants and Pelicans as they do a lot more fish damage than the 3 or 4 Blue Herons that live in the area.

Pelicans are a spring and fall problem; Cormorants mostly a spring problem.

I have found that scaring them off with things zinging into the water all around them works well on both species. A Cormorant hates to fly when cold and wet while a Pelican just plain hates to take flight unless he has to. It both cases it appears to be hard work. After 2 or three scare-offs the word gets around and the Pelicans disappear. Cormorants need multiple encouragements and will eventually give up as well.

The worst possible thing is to have Coromants and Pelicans on the pond at the same time as they work together to harvest your fish for you.

For zinging to work you need to live and work by your pond so you can keep fairly steady zinging pressure on the birds.