Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Discouraging Water Turkeys

I am sure that a good deal of scientific work has been done on the effect of cormorant, herons, etc. on ponds. Does anyone here know how much real damage they are likely to do to the fishing in a sporting pond? What size fish are they generally eating? How many bluegill would they have to eat to make a real difference?

I have to confess to having a lot of sympathy with Norm's POV. We enjoy having a pair of greater blues and one or two green herons around, but I have been under the impression that they eat only small fish and that the mainstay of their diet is frogs, etc. We only have rare cormorant passing through here, but I enjoy watching them catch fish as much as I do catching them, myself. Kingfishers are a hoot to watch. We also have goldeneye ducks in the winter. I am sure they eat their share of fish, but they are a laugh on a grey winter day.

I am not speaking ill of those who are infested with dozens of cormorants and want to do something about it, but one or two??? I started hunting before I started to school, but I have never been proud to shoot anything I couldn't eat. Above all, we need some facts from our experts on the effects of these birds.
Lou

lou, i mean no disrespect. but whatever you shoot that you cannot eat, there are others who gladly will.

mark

svoberts, West Point grad huh!! we'll forgive ya!!! ( as we all know, if you went there, you ain't no stupid feller....just mis...directed!! hahaha!!...go Navy!!!)

Another funny story, one time, dad was a guest lecturer for my high school physics class. me and my brother (both "squids" kids) were sitting next to a Marine's son. well, dad finished his lecture on Aviation/mariner navigation. dad asked, "did everyone get that?? OOOHHH, we have a Marine's kid here, I better repeat all that again." later that year, I won the Anatomy and Physiology award....and the teacher was that Marine's kid dad...he said..."we all ought to be proud of this next young man's achievements....being a squid kid and all..."......now, the only people who may get this are military folks...but, hopefully pleasurable none the less.!!!

enjoy, mark

Lou, I understand your view. Up to a point, but only up to a point. I don't even kill rattlesnakes or copperheads unless they are around the house or pond or other places that I/we spend a lot of time around. I consider all water snakes as harmless until I find out differently. I don't allow non discriminatory shooting or "target practice" with rabbits, turtles or sparrows as the objective. If you shoot a buck on my land, it better go to the taxidermist.

However, I mercilessly destroy pests or problems with me being the only judge on my own land. A lot of people like squirrels but, around the house(s), I try to eliminate them. They have chewed 2 holes in the side of my house for nesting and multiple holes in the sides of my trailer house in the country. Long billed birds around the pond also qualify since I insist on being the only external predator at the water hole. A couple of years ago stray dogs just about ran all of the deer off my land. Game cameras showed nothing but dogs, even at night. That's no longer a problem. Mad neighbors are. They were asked politely and then warned multiple times.

A lot of people say "It's just nature" and I agree and understand. It is the nature of rodents to gnaw and of coyotes to kill easy prey. However, I'm not into rehabilitation but believe strongly in retribution and handling problems on a personal basis. BTW, I really like coyotes and would much rather have them than I would chickens. Actually, I think I prefer all wildlife more than I like people, children excepted. Oh yeah, I like dogs but they need to be kept up.

Sorry, this got wordy and I need to get off my soap box and get ready for work.

Herons are tasty...

...or so I've been told. :rolleyes:

Dave for President, Daaavvveee for President!!!

Mark, I'll call W - we need Dave on the Supreme Court now. He can resign in 2006 to go for the top slot. Well, maybe not. I hear that Hillary is going for it and four (probably eight) more years of the Clintons is pretty appealing.
JM, heron is great! Not quite as good as spotted owl, but close. Now, if you want incomparable table fare, try those woodpeckers with the whitish bills.

Dudley, I've spent a lifetime trying to avoid courts. I've not always been successful. My concept of "self help" has occasionally landed my butt in hot water. I thought once that I was going to be on a diet of cold sandwiches with no second cup of coffee, not even decaf. You know, they have a narrow minded bunch of public servants in East Texas.

Now, if it could maybe be a Federal Judgeship, I'd be proud to serve. Just think about it; a no cut contract for life with no real accountability. Ain't it great to be an American?

oh, and Dudley for ...chairman of the EPA !!

Ya know im in no hurry to get in trouble with the law - havent yet - other than a few speeding tickets - and i still think those cops picked the wrong car everytime . what agency do you contact for the water turkey permit ?

here's the url
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/news/040830b.phtml

and info

For information about the cormorant permit, including applications, contact TPWD Wildlife Permitting, 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744 or call (512) 389-4491.

I would love to get a photocopy of the Texas permit from someone who has one. It would be a great novelty to hang on the wall with my fish hatchery licenses.

Anyone have the permit?

Brian

Dave Davidson,
I whole heartedly agree with your aproach to pest control on own property!
I would only add that a coyote has at least one other redeeming quality. He will kill & eat all the cats he can catch!
I like dogs too, but cats ... they're too self-centered, untrainable, too independent.
I guess they're too much like me!
People should keep their pets up! Why is it that they think everybody else wants their pets around too? I live in the middle of a 60 ac tract & can't leave my muddy boots on the porch without a neighbors dog dragging them off!

Maybe BigPond has the answer with the Blue cats! Grow fish bigh enough to eat the water turkeys!

I hear gators will take down a heron, why not a water turkey!

I would need to have 1/2 dozen gators on my pond to keep up with the water turkeys...they are really bad news.

Spend all your money, work and slave to get a good forage base established and the #&** water turkeys wipe all that out in a matter of days.

I have more problems with herons than anything else. Anyone know of a supplier for gators in Wisconsin? Do they travel well by Fed Ex?

I tried that. FedEx won't ship them - you have to use UPS and pay extra for 2nd Day Air shipping, plus there's a HAZMAT fee ($20, I think).

Free country free speach, Wax em!

check out the cormorant scare crows at

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4001548&a=30524481&f=

scare crows

Al Kohutek,

Those are pretty cool.

For some unknown reason, I've only experienced one lone water turkey this season. Maybe the permits in Texas are working.

I need a permit for grass carp and water turkeys. where do I go to get one?

James,

I posted it in an earlier note on this thread:

"here's the url
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/news/040830b.phtml

and info

For information about the cormorant permit, including applications, contact TPWD Wildlife Permitting, 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744 or call (512) 389-4491.

The grass carp permit is linked to the TPW home page, as I remember.

The grass carp won't help your algae problem. The Tilapia will, but you have to give them time to work at it. Depending on how many you stock and how bad your problem is, it may take longer than you wish.

If you have a real bad case you may want to try some Cutrine Plus and then follow-up with the Tilapia for ongoing control. That is what I did.

See several other posts on the use of Cutrine Plus.

Thanks for the information. I thought that these cormerants migrated out of here during the summer?

Yes, they do...usually. Maybe you need to make them feel unwelcome.

Hey Meadow,

This may have been asked before, but do the water turkeys roost in certian trees? I cant recall if WT's sit up in old dead trees or just float around..