Egret ate all of my fish

[gardenlady]

:sad: Walked out to my pond yesterday and ALL of my fish were gone! I was stunned and deeply saddened. We happen to have cameras around our home so we checked and sure enough an Egret was in our pond and picking them off and eating them. My husband saw him eat three of the 8 (I couldn't watch any of this) one after the other and fly off, so he came back same day and/or next day and finished them off. We live where we have a man made huge lake outside out backyard gate and so there are few egrets and herons that are constantly around that lake, but this is the first time in all these years I've had one come into our pond. I've been researching different options and seems as thought the best idea is to net the pond but would welcome advise from those with far more knowledge than I have in ponds. One question in regards to netting is how to build one so that I still have access to clean the pond if necessary and feed the fish, add plants, etc. One video I watched showed staking the netting and it seems to cover the pond with no access which brought this question to mind. If possible I'd love a link to a page with video or photos of how to build properly.

 

[sissy]

Gosh sorry to hear ,did it land in the pond or walk into the pond .Colleen strung rope or twine over top of her pond to stop fly ins .That may work for you if he flew in .It would not limit your access .Addy added fishing line around her pond to stop walk in and it worked .She is on a cruise now but sure colleens method would work

 

[j.w]

I don't use a net. Have had heron come to my pond in the past and have discouraged him by trying many methods. I have clangy windchimes, various stakes w/ swirling thingy's and one of those green wire folding fences about 18" high all around it. Had to reinforce the fence w/ added pieces of wire strung in-between tho as I watched him one day squeeze right between and under the fence holes. Darn bird is sneaky! I planted shrubs and plants that interfere w/ the birds legs, think they don't like trying to fit through scratchy places. I also have a radio set to come on automatically at dawn and off at dark. Now I'm thinking the radio on talk radio kind of loud is working for me the best. It sits on my covered porch out of the weather aimed right at the pond that sits right near the porch. My cats also used to stalk him when he used to visit. Oh and my hubby took some small flat boards and stuck little short spikey metal things in them so they point upwards and I placed those in some area's around the pond also. If he steps there he gets nailed,won't wound him just a big ouch cuz the spikes aren't really sharp just annoying. Those worked good also for the raccoons getting into my container ponds w/ plants in them. Just set them around the base of the containers and owie on their feets!

 

[sissy]

my neighbor uses one of those rough coco mats you put at your door to wipe your shoes to keep the deer from drinking lots of her pond water .I know they hurt my bare feet .

 

[Catfishnut]

Gardenlady,

Before you replace your pond fish, put a 50 lb alligator gar in your pond to eat the egret when he returns.
Video tape that and sell it to a WILD NATURE program to make money to replace your fish.
Then go fishing, catch the gar and eat a nice fish dinner.

Catfish

 

[Catfishnut]

For a serious idea regarding a deterrent to the egret returning, how about an open shade shelter or horizontal trellace above the pond and a fence around it? Don't know how large your pond is, but you could build something like this that is 20 foot square or even a little larger with ease.

Catfishnut

 

[gardenlady]

Gardenlady,

Before you replace your pond fish, put a 50 lb alligator gar in your pond to eat the egret when he returns.
Video tape that and sell it to a WILD NATURE program to make money to replace your fish.
Then go fishing, catch the gar and eat a nice fish dinner.

Catfish

HAHA! Was looking at this to put in the pond so funny you should mention alligator. I will post pic below since I don't see where I can post it in a reply. Our pond is only 800 gallons, but if you've been following the posts we are going to completely redesign the pond so it will be larger and WAY deeper than it currently is.

 

[gardenlady]

 

[gardenlady]

only problem with that is I have to deal with the association and they are very particular about what can be put outside. Need to live in the country with some property!

 

[sissy]

thats the problem with planned communities .They rule the roost and you pay them to tell you what you can and cannot do on your own property .i could not handle that myself ,I pay I say my rules .

 

[gardenlady]

thats the problem with planned communities .They rule the roost and you pay them to tell you what you can and cannot do on your own property .i could not handle that myself ,I pay I say my rules .

Well that's the truth of the matter for sure and it won't be but a few more years and we will sell and look for property with some acreage. Will be nice not to be butt up against neighbors too!

 

[sissy]

only thing i don't like is the extra work property takes .I am glad that there is a farm on the other side of the woods behind my house and in front of my house .I don't mind watching the cows and hearing there moo moo's .I can barely see them as the trees get bigger though so i do miss it .Plus I live in the county so taxes cheaper on my 3 acres at around a thousand dollars a year .The closer you are to the city limits the more you pay .I would rather pay less . :razz:

 

[In2deep]

You could try one of those motion activated sprinklers used for deer.

 

[gardenlady]

You could try one of those motion activated sprinklers used for deer.

You know...I viewed that today scaring away cats and raccoons and it's something I'm thinking about as well. I might just try a few different things to make sure they are safe, so when we redesign *hopefully soon since I miss my fish*...I might just add that since we've seen a cat walking around the perimeter of our pond via our cameras on our property since I can place it where I can turn it off before it can get me.

 

[Big Lou]

I am so sorry gardenlady.