Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help herons

I've been reading lots of posts and I've noticed that some of you work hard to keep herons out of your ponds. We have a great blue heron that visits our pond every day at around the same time - between noon and 1:30. What is the problem with herons. Should we be concerned about his visits?

Well, Stormy, they eat fish. Whether or not one should be concerned depends upon your situation and outlook.

Cecil Baird raises a relatively very small number of fish to a very large size and then sells them to taxidermy schools. This is part of his livelihood. A Great Blue Heron getting the blue plate special at one of Cecil's ponds could easily cost him in excess of $100. So for Cecil, they are quite understandably a major concern.

For the fellow who had a bait fish pond, a heron eating a few out of a few million Shiners is probably not much of a problem.

For most of us, the impact and concern lies somewhere in between. Personally I don't like them eating my fish, but I know that there are lots more in the pond. I can handle one heron eating fish that are reproducing OK. Two Herons will lead me to drive them off. If I was losing non-reproducing fish (like HSB) I would be more upset.

Also, fish eating birds including herons are one leg of the life cycle of fish parasites like yellow and black grubs. Since I have RES that eat most of the snails which constitutes another leg of the grubs's life cycle, this is not too big a deal for me but it could be for someone else.

I do believe that none of us dislike fairly solitary fish eaters like herons anywhere near as much as the poor PBs who suffer from large flocks of cormorants hate them (justifiably so IMO).

...and, another heron story....
The boss's sister lives in the Chicago suburbs; the typical "one house after the other" on city lots that are 60 ft wide. She installed and created a beautifully crafted Koi pond oasis that is a few thousand gallons, different elevations, waterfall, surrounding garden, the works. The pond footprint might be all of 8' x 25' + gardens and walkways.
They have a huge Heron problem.
They have seen the thing standing on the roof of neighboring homes, waiting. They have actually had to put 4' tall netting around the pond perimeter to keep him out (can't land in the water due to angle of descent trajectory). It is not unusual to come home in the afternoon and find the netting fence kinda pushed over at the rebar stakes where he/she was pushing to get in.

And another...

I had a daily Herron visitor like you, Stormy. If he took a BG or two, even a couple 10 inch ones, I wouldn't care. However, when I found a 19" Walleye dead on the shore last October with the tele-tale entry and exit wounds of being speared by a Herron, he sealed his own fate.

I'm sure he speared it and then found out there was no way he could get it down his throat so he just left it on the shore. If you have larger fish that you value and don't like to waste, then you might want to take some of the preventative measures you've been reading about.

Good luck.

Dan

and another...

There was a story in the paper about a guy who found one caught up in old discarded fishing line. When he tried to help the bird get untangled, it poked out his eye...he said he had no animosity toward the bird. it was only using it's natural instincts.

p.s. my blue heron always sees my pickup coming and flies off. If my truck is already there, he simply does a fly by...he's smart !