But seriously I need some help here. I have a hundred plus CNBG beds right next to my feeder and I have a GBH that has set up shop there.

Cecil, I read somewhere about you using stakes and mono, but can you explain a little better what you are doing with it?

Has anyone else come up with a "legal" solution?
Thanks,
Pat

You put the stakes out along the where the land meets the water and put mono about 6" up the stakes (IIRC). Cecil says the birds won't land in the water choosing to land on solid ground instead.

Then, they won't cross over the mono to get into the water.

Another legal method is to get an aquaculture license, then apply for a permit to permanently remove them.

Thanks I guess that I will give that a try.

That sounds like the best plan!

Hijacking coming:

How about pushing off a Bald Eagle? In my area they have really grown in numbers. 10 years ago, I never saw one. Now, 2 or 3 a day is not uncommon.

I have one that has kind of taken up residency and it concerns me. I got a report from my neighbor last night he/she whapped my cattail maintaining muskrat. The second one in a week. And my duck pond is void of waterfowl which I'm suspecting the eagle is part to blame.

Don't get me wrong. I love to watch this majestic bird. And talk about a great top line predator but....

I would go up about 10 inches and than another strand up another 10 inches and maybe another at the 25 inch mark. You can do it really cheap if you pick up some furring strips from the local lumber yard. Drill in drywall screws to attach the mono. Get some really cheap 20 to 30 pound mono from Walmart.

Anymore I just protect my bluegill beds and don't go around the entire pond.

The idea is GBH's don't land in the water unless they think it's really shallow. They typically land on the shore and wade it. If they bump up against the lines and they are too high to step over they will stay out of the water.

Send 'em my way. I'd love to have a bird that takes out muskrats as they do a lot of damage in my banks. And btw they do attack GBH's too!

Will the GBH just reach over/thru the line with their long neck? Probably still get some, just helps cut down on a more severe impact? Also, if the GBH has been use to feeding in a spot, will they then know that they can land in the water and bypass the line?

I have had some, and guess its time to look into this myself.

If you install it where he can't reach the beds with his neck you're good. But if the water is shallow enough for him to wade in the other side, you probably would have to also install some stakes out in the water or install them farther out.

My water is deep enough that on the water side it's to deep for them to wade on the other side.

It sounds like a pain but it's not difficult to do. Two stakes can easily cover as far as you need to go if they lines are fairly straight.

Doesn't have to be up on the bank. You can install the lines over the water.

Wow I would LOVE to have something that ate Muskrats...I'm currently trying my best to train the dog to 'get' them. No joy yet.

Thanks Cecil. Shorty (I think that's who said it) was going to buy one of those GBH decoys. I wonder how that is working out, if he got it.

I saw some videos on line with GBH eating fish while standing right next to a decoy.

Yeah I've got another I need to run off.. If it wasn't for the parasite issues I'd let them be..

I have done this little trick of cecil's and it does work pretty well. I used 4 foot long 3/8th inch rebar. I put them about 20 or so feet apart. Pounded them in 12 iches that left me 3 feet. I then put a line at 10 inches and one at the top. I just rapped the line around the rebar a couple of times and kept going. Worked pretty well except I think I had some deer get into it on the far side of the pond as the line seems to be broke and there are deer tracks all around. The GBH does not land by my feeder anymore though. I think I pissed him off enough that he is tired of trying!! I have not seen him in a good while. Or someone else took care of him if you know what I mean.....

RC

P.S. The only con to this idea is as your pond dries up the GBH could land on the front side of where you originally put your line. Just because you set your line at the edge of the water doesn't mean in 2 months that where the edge of your water is going to be! Just keep that in mind...

Be careful with the rebar. After myself or Lusk put that down as an alternative to the wooden stakes --in an article I did for Pond Boss -- a doctor succinctly informed us they would be a terrible thing to fall on. I suppose he'e right. I'd hate to hear of someone skewered by one. .

The construction industry has caps that look like mushrooms that are designed just to prevent that very thing from happening. Only problem is that they are yellow or orange to make them visible.

As for the bald eagle, I'd not do anything to scare him/her away except maybe string some fishing line 6'-8' or maybe higher over the pond in a couple of areas. They might hit it once or twice when coming in, but might realize that it's not a good place to fly and look somewhere else. The regs on them are more strict than GBH. You can't have even a feather from one in your posession unless you have permission, and that's usually reserved for the native americans.

While we are on the subject of pest birds, the wife saw a cormorant on the pond the other day. Do you think the "fishing line across the pond" idea will work on these birds too?

It might, but since they fly in and land, not keep flying like the eagle, if they make it past the lines they will be there for a while.........

A friend of mine was recently arrested for killing a GBH. He was laid off back in 2009 and has had spotty employment since then (at best). He explained the situation to the judge, saying that his children were hungry and he couldn't bear to see them suffer. The judge was very understanding and dismissed the charge.

As my friend was turning to leave the courtroom, the judge asked "I'm curious, what does a great blue heron taste like?" My friend turned around and said, "well, kind of like a cross between a great horned owl and a bald eagle"

Sorry for the repeat if someone's told that one on here before...

Love the joke.

Btw I've killed them in the past when I had a permit from the feds and I wasn't using staked lines as much as I do now. For all the fish, frogs, etc. they eat there isn't much there. Not much meat at all. Mostly feathers!

Shorty said his Heron is no longer showing up so he held off on the decoy.

I too have a daily GBH visitor that I chase off every morning, and at 5pm when I get home from work. I read where they'll eat up to a 12" fish, so if it's helping clear out my LMB 12" and under I'm okay with that. But I hate the fact it may be getting my bullfrogs! Plus I've seen stab marks on much larger LMB than 12".

I found this one on top of the dam Wednesday night. No autopsy will be performed as I don't care what caused it's demise and there's no visible wounds, but kinda cool to get a close-up look at it. It's wingspan was right at 6'.

I also read the following so I didn't want to mess with it too much:
Disease Threat
Great blue herons have been documented to carry the West Nile Virus. Contracting histoplasmosis from
contaminated soil below a heron rookery could be a valid concern.




And sure enough, there was another one the next morning taking his place

Not to threadjack, but just wondering if this is a GBH? Any guesses if its not? Thanks.

I'd say no due to the stripe on the face, and definately, positively no if it was sighted in Hawaii.

But, as to what it is, I don't know without looking thru some bird books.

Black-crowned Night-heron

Thanks. Time to Google. He's definitely a fisherman.

Yep, my dog killed one and it was like a hollow tube from its neck on down. Didn't weigh much at all. As you said, all feathers.

Do they have osprey in Hawaii ? Looks kinda like one

Be careful with the dog and herons. They can put an eye out, as I'm told they go for the eye when attacked or feel threatened. A trapper told me his friend got one in a trap and he tried to put his jacket over it to get it out. The bird got out and nailed him in the eye blinding him in that eye.

I find them to be kinda stringy but I am not that good a cook so my advise is give it a try.

Cattail maintaining muskrat, or pond bank destroying muskrat? Use a little rodeo on the cattails and control both. It's not my pond, but I would gladly offer up a mid-size fish as a reward to any bird of prey that takes out a rat!!!!

I also doubt that the eagle is keeping out waterfowl. Maybe you don't have preferred plant life/conditions to attract the fowl....?

I live near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers where we have the largest congregation of Bald eagles in North America each winter....there are 1000's and 1000's of Bald Eagle feeding, and there is no shortage of waterfowl at that time of year in the same area.

Come on Rex...where is the love to those cute muskrats? Sure they make runs into the bank that cause you to roll your ankles when you step into them. Sure they get caught in the fish traps and tear them up. But they are so cute!

You, like always, make some good points. IMHO, the reason that bald eagle is loving the ponds and my land in general is simply predator and prey ebb and flow. 2 acres of fish ponds, all with very clear water. Duck ponds and low lands with geese,ducks, rats, and every other kind of "vermin" (snakes, mice, etc.). Its a living breathing buffet for all raptors. I say to all predators...Come and get you some! I'm just trying to preserve the balance.

All of my muskrats die of high speed lead poisoning.

Love of Muskrats??? Here is a thread on those critters involving my love....and visual issues

TJ's Muskrats

I had to quit reading that thread you linked to Rex. Been suffering from a summer cold with heavy chest congestion. When I started reading that thread, I laughed so hard, that started me coughing and I thought I was going to cough up a lung.

I'll have to finish reading the rest of the thread when I get over this cold. That is a life threatening thread under certain conditions.

But I nailed that sucker from 60-80 feet, in a blind location (from my area of view)....TWICE!!!!

Hooooooooooooly Cow Rex! Now that is priceless!!! My family knew exactly when I read that thread (lmfao)!

Lol