Startled this mornin'

[DrCase]

How far did you have to lead them?
Hunters will get this...

I had a cross bow ...so i had to let it go

 

[D&RW]

Your pond landscaping is really filling in nicely, D&RW. Very nice job.

thank you very much.

 

[D&RW]

PS3,no sir...if i was inside he would have been stung by miss daisy!!!! HEY D&RW how did my simple annecdote become a forum for your photo shoots?................lol

guess i coulda stuck it with the heron attack thread. still, same topic. BTW, tomorrow I've constructed a makeshift blind. we'll see what happens.

 

[koikeepr]

When you see them that close they are really big
Sitting on a deer stand along a ditch i have had them fly by at eye level
a few feet away ...it gets your attention

It is so true. When I saw one swoop onto the tree above my pond last fall, I was simply stunned at how large these birds are. Had it been on the ground, I would have sworn it would have been as tall as a small person. It had to be 5 feet tall!

 

[Squidhead]

Crap, I caught this just after you posted it Koiguy. LMAO and replied but it didn't post. Might have hit preview by mistake, have done that before. Just before reading it I used Miss Daisy's cousin Red to pop a squirrel in the back of it's front. Little sucker was eating my almost ripe peaches. I have seen a heron every evening doing a fly by. They look like Teradactyl's up close in flight.

 

[koikeepr]

They look like Teradactyl's up close in flight.

THAT is the perfect way to put it! Exactly right!

 

[D&RW]

Crap, I caught this just after you posted it Koiguy. LMAO and replied but it didn't post. Might have hit preview by mistake, have done that before. Just before reading it I used Miss Daisy's cousin Red to pop a squirrel in the back of it's front. Little sucker was eating my almost ripe peaches. I have seen a heron every evening doing a fly by. They look like Teradactyl's up close in flight.

Squirrels eat our peaches too. really annoying because they only take a bite or two. i had to pop them too to run them off.

 

[koiguy1969]

well it only took a couple times of Ms.Daisy asking Mr "free breakfast" Heron to stay away from my pond this year...........over 3 weeks and hasnt been back. took 5 or 6 times last year but he stayed away till this year.. didnt see him in the yard for 10 or 11 months. he must have forgotten over his winter migration, but he remembers now!! best part is he never got to snack any of my guys this year!

 

[DrDave]

Don't let your guard down. They hit just when you start getting confident you have it under control. I see evidence of the raccoon walking on my netting, trying to figure out how to get at them.

 

[koiguy1969]

O.k i saw something that i shouldnt have accordring to the things ive read on herons...2 flying together it seems. one proceeded to land on my neighbors shed about an 1/2 hour later. Ms. daisy was having coffee with me out on the deck, she asked him to leave. this was a larger, darker bird than in the past. may have been a mating pair, or one chasing the other off...anyways i think i may have a new one to deal with now!

 

[DrDave]

I get people here every weekend with Egret and raccoon problems. I show them how easy it is to keep the predators out and their next stop is Home Depot for the materials.

 

[addy1]

We have herons flying over our empty hole all the time, think they are just waiting for the water to arrive.
Not too worried about them, since this will be a nature pond, maybe some fish, and what ever decides to live in it.
I am making it deep enough for the fish that we might have to hide from the bird.

My only concern is do their beaks tear holes in the lining when they go after a fish, frog or whatever they want?

 

[MikeyToo]

Yes, I can see how that could be quite startling. They are HUGE birds... A few years ago I looked out our back window to see a Great Egret downing a comet. I hurriedly made my way to the pond to confront the creature and ran right up to it, catching it off-guard. I was about to reach out and grab it by the neck but I suddenly realized the thing was a good 3.5 feet tall and that beak was something I didn't want to get too close too. With one hop the bird jumped up onto a 6' wall before taking flight. Of course once it took flight I got all chicken chested and challenged the bird to dare to return.....

 

[DrDave]

That's hilarious. I can see you out there beating your chest.
If you have a true EPDM liner, I don't think their beaks can poke a hole in it.

 

[addy1]

I chatted with bend tarp and liner, they said it would handle the heron's well.

Thanks