A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Water Gardens Lynne's Pond experience continues ~Summer & fall 2009

PS That flower is beautiful!!!!

OMG I JUST SAW IT!!!

[color:#3333FF]I was looking out of our bathroom window hoping to see some fish - it's very cloudy and much much cooler today, so I figured they would not be out and about swimming yet even if they weren't still afraid!

Constantly sleep deprived, I was just staring at the water, when all of a sudden a [size:20pt]GIRNOMOUS GREAT BLUE HERON FLEW UP AND AWAY FROM THE SIDE OF THE POND!!! RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY BLURY EYES! IT WAS AS BIG AS A PTERODACTYL DINOSAUR I TELL YOU!!!

I watched him fly over our next door neighbor's house out of site - soooooooooooooooooo huge!!! He would actually be beautiful if he wasn't eating my fish!!!

I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I DIDN'T SEE HIM SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THE POND! I WAS PROBABLY TOO LATE ANYWAY - we only see 6 fish huddled together right now - down from the 9 the other day, which was down from the 11 we had. I hope the other 3 are hiding but it's really not likely now... [/size] [/color]

Wanna know the really strange thing??? Last night I had a nightmare! I dreamed that I was looking out the window at the pond, and I actually counted all 11 fish in the pond! I was thrilled to pieces, but my joy was very short lived as an ELEPHANT stomped onto the garden on the right side (same side the heron was just on!!!) and was about to suck up all the water and fish with his huge trunk!!! I screamed out loud in my sleep and Don woke me up!!!


TALK ABOUT A PREMONITION!!! This actually has me scared a bit!

wow lynne. that's sad. i read something somewhere about a type of statue that will discourage herons. i want to say if you put a heron statue out, they will not go on other's territory. but i'll have to research/remember it.

i do know i never seen more than one in any area at one time here, so there may be something to that. maybe you could put a statue in the middle of the pond to ward off the the heron.

alright, being bored, i did some research. what i found was that the motion detector sprayer was in the top 2 deterrents. the other was a movable/floating predator of some kind. gator, owl, or even a hippo. number 3 was a heron statue, but everything i read said you have to be careful to put it away during march-may because of mating season. during that time, it could attract herons instead of deterring them. the rest of the year (like now) it would deter them.

so, all that said, maybe an owl from feb to jun, and a heron the rest of the time? and the sprinkler all the time? everything i read said that 2 different approaches combined work best.

if it were me, being as far south as i am, it would be a floating gator!

Oh, I like that. I do put wind twirly things by my pond to deter. And I have other 'watering holes' where the critters are welcome to drink or bathe or whatever.

You guys are NOT going to believe this but I have a heron statue. Someone gave it to me when I left the health department.

Snap a picture of the blue heron if you get a chance.

Thanks for doing all that research, Jiffy . I am familiar with all those deterents but am also active on a ponding forum and most of the ponders there have "been there tried that" but the birds usually see through all of them. The statues need to be moved several times a day or the birds realize they are fake - even with moving, if they are hungry enough they ignore them.

Someone wrote about her scarecrow sprinkler - the heron was so smart he actually figured out how much time he had from the moment it got activated to the moment the sprinkler went off - 7 seconds in her case! And he still got away with fish!!!

AND... Just when I think I know what's getting to the fish, Oliver (Brian's cat) was making noises at the sliding doors in our kitchen and I look out to see a big fat racoon staring back at him!!! They are also notorious for pond fishing! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

I have had a lot of raccoons here over the years and they'v e never 'fished'. Except once when we were cleaning the pond and put the fish into the jaccuzzi (with pond water only) and forgot that they needed rocks and things to hide under

Sounds like you've been very lucky, Tina. I've seen pictures of ponds after racoon damage - they wreak havoc on all the plants, etc - tearing apart water lilies, and knocking any plants on shelves in ponds to get to the fish. So far, I've been lucky too, but I didn't need to see the racoon on our second story deck on the same day that I saw the heron. I guess it was the racoon who left the "present" the other day - a bird would not have had that kind of "deposit".

Oh, They absolutely love water hyacinth. I couldn't keep one of those for anything.

Have you thought of netting your pond for a while? For the bird?

We've talked about netting, but really... herons do not migrate from here at any time of the year, so it would have to be a permanent situation. At that point, I feel like "what is the point" of having fish? Nets are unattractive and bothersome to me. I wouldn't be able to have any of the plants on the perimeters the way I do now, and the racoons have been known to go under nets when they are determined.

A friend of mine who lives 40 minutes north of us has a very thick (ugly in my opinion) net on her pond because herons got all of her expensive koi last summer. That is one reason I never put a lot of money into the fish - only bought baby koi that were inexpensive, and now the comets. But they were doing so very well and more than doubled in size since I got them, so this is heartbreaking to me.

I am sorry, Lynne.

It's so aggravating! Bugs eat what we plant in the gardens and birds eat the fish out of the pond. We're in a constant battle.

Fish still scared today, huddling under water lily leaves!

Lynne: While since they are all huddled together, I can tell the fishies are frightened, at least they are alive and well.--and I think I counted 9 ?

Good eye, Carol!
As of yesterday afternoon, all 9 are still there thankfully!

I can't tell you how many times I jump up to go look out the windows and make noise on them just in case...!

Oh my, Just something else for momma Lynne to take care of huh???

I must say your fishies do look big and healthy.

Thanks Carol!


NO WONDER I was so very cold outside in a tank top and shorts in the rubber waders IN THE POND!!! It's only 58 degrees outside right now!!! BRRRRR! That water was freeeeeeeeeezing!

I bet it was. At 58 degrees, I'm weaing a sweatshirt.

My grandaughter, Darbi, just got back from an outdoor enrichment experience and she informed me yesterday that beavers love to eat lilly pads. Better watch out for beavers Lynne.

How fast is a heron? Does the heron actually get in the pond and go after the fish?

Oh Sheri you made me chuckle!
Thanks for starting my morning off on the right foot! There aren't any beavers around here - not that I know of anyway!
(Ya never know in my neck of the woods! )

Herons can swoop down very quickly and snatch a fish right out of the water, OR they perch on the side of the pond hidden (mine was hiding behind the elephant ears which is why I didn't even see it!) and grab a fish as it swims by.

Sneaky birds. I thought they were waders too?

The pond is too deep for them to wade in - a good thing!

OMG!!!

I just went out to get the mail. My next door neighbor got his too, and called me over to compliment me on the landscaping of the pond - he said he and his wife enjoy looking at it from their deck - nice!

BUT... while we were talking, I was telling him about how a heron got 2 of my fish. He said he's never seen one. WELL LET ME TELL YOU... as if it was on cue!!! I turned around to look at the pond and right there, right then was the heron perched on the side of the pond where I had seen him last time! I was so very shocked to see him then - pointed him out to my neighbor and the heron flew off! My neighbor got to see the bird in all it's glory - I ran over to count fish!!! I couldn't see them all til I fed them - counted 8 of the 9 consistently so I figured he got one! But then, thankfully, as I was walking back to the house I saw the last one hiding terrified in one of the black PVC pipes that we put in the pond just for that exact reason! YEA! :wink:

I am going to put some plant stakes on the side where I've now seen the heron twice because that is what I have handy. We really need to decide our next move soon though.

Here is the pond yesterday - thought I'd post an early fall picture.

Will the herons ever stop??---I am so glad you scared it away.

I hope he does not come back for a very long time, if at all.


Lynne as always your pond and the surrounding gardens are beautiful...I so look forward to seeing pictures of it.

I love seeing pictures of your pond. The colors are magnificant.

You're going to have to put stuff out all around it I guess to deter that bird. Don't leave out your grill. That bird might have heard about the guy and the goldfish and decide to give it a try.

lynne, your pond looks so nice. and i'm glad the last fish got away.

Lynne I love this picture it looks like a peaceful tranquil sitting area in a botanical garden Park
What's the fish count now??

Oh and anything more about getting a heater for the winter?

Well I put lots of tomato stakes at the sides of the pond where I had seen the heron before, but he was BACK this morning on the front edge! First thing I saw when I looked out the window! I chased him off, and then saw that we had indeed had frost last night and my Charles Grimaldi brug was limp.

I don't know how many/if any fish are still left in the pond now - the other day I only saw 5, and haven't seen any since then. BUT... it is VERY cold out there now, and they do hibernate once the water temperature goes below 50 - it was in the mid 40's yesterday morning.

I spent 1 1/2 hours cutting back Charles, and digging him up. SHHHHHHHH - don't tell Don but I broke his shovel trying to dig that sucker out of the ground! The metal part broke right off the stick and it was a GOOD HEAVY shovel!!! But I now have a few nice sized pieces in vases hopefully to root, and the big DADDY plant in a pot in the garage waiting for Don to bring it into the basement for winter - yea!

You'd think that bird would take a hint or at least be afraid. Maybe he'll move on when it gets colder. Since there's one does that mean theres another somewhere close by?

Good thinking on the brug.

Lynne: If you take Don's shovel to a hardware store they should be able to sell you a new handle and hopefuly they can replace it for you too.

Good luck * Carol is whispering so Don does not hear*

Carol - Don said the same thing but... it was NOT the handle that broke off - the metal part snapped off from the metal part that holds the handle on. It is toast!

Lynne how unfortunate that your shovel broke in the place it did! I'm glad it at least lasted long enough for you to get the brug dug up.

I think it is downright lovely that your neighbors are enjoying their view of your pond. I know I would if I lived nearby. You guys have certainly outdone yourselves on this project!

Merme

I'm just wondering...

Have you ever thought of putting pictures of your pond in a member's gallery? It is so beautiful and well done, I think lots of folks would enjoy seeing the collection of photos all in one spot.


Merme

Are you winterizing yet?

Did you tell us you were going to wait on this I can't remember and couldn't find where you said,,




Inquiring minds want to know

I too am curious on both questions----

so what is next, Lynne ??? inquiring minds for sure wanna know----