“Far up some brook’s still course, whose current mines the forest’s blackened roots, and whose green marge is seldom visited by human foot, the lonely heron sits, and harshly breaks the sabbath silence of the wilderness; and you may find her by some reedy pool, or brooding gloomily on the time-stained rock beside some misty and far-reaching lake.” The words of an unknown writer from a very long time ago left out one other place you might find the great blue heron: on my property, gazing intently at the koi and goldfish in my huge outdoor pond.
A few days back, we found evidence that some predator had been stalking our back gardens. We thought it might have been a raccoon since we regularly see him on his nocturnal rounds. One night, I watched one that weighed well over twenty pounds try to remove the lid from one of our garbage cans. He knew I was watching him and seemed to dare me to try to interfere with what little progress he was making. He eventually tired of it and sauntered away. The occasional garden snake will get into the water and go after our fish. This time, however, we knew we had big trouble. A great blue heron had come to answer the call of the dinner bell…
We are careful to keep an eye on the fish population because we do know they breed. Late in the spring or early summer we see the ones that hatched, so we have a fair idea how many fish there are during any one season. After we realized that something had been nosing around, we discovered we had lost a few of the goldfish. Thankfully none of the older group of koi had been attacked, but the entire population was down in the deepest part of the pond, skittish and hiding. My pond began small and is now rather large. It holds about 1,500 gallons of water and at its deepest point is almost five feet. The fish were down deep and would not come up to the surface to feed. It was that fact that that led us to believe that something really big had unnerved them. We have water lilies, tropical taro and water irises growing in the pond. They provide shade to help moderate the water temperature in the high heat of summer. They also provide camouflage from any heron flying overhead. There was evidence that some of the lily pads had been disturbed and damaged, as well.
We let our dog out yesterday morning at one point and she began furiously barking. A neighbour saw the heron on the property and she was at the door just as my wife had gone into the yard to see what had spooked the dog. We then knew what we had to do. We had to keep a close eye on the pond.
We had a heron problem some years back. At the time, our pond was a small insert that fit into a hole in the ground. We came outside one morning to find half the fish missing. Our neighbour across the street also has a pond and he had put up the call that a heron was seen flying overhead. When you find others who share the same interest in outdoor ponds you begin a network of sorts. If there is a problem with fish, plants or disease, you have others who might be able to offer advice. When the call goes up that a heron has been seen on the wing, the network becomes vigilant. An adult heron can decimate the population in a pond in very short order.
There can be a lot of money invested in fish stock especially if the pond owner has an interest in Japanese koi. Go to any garden center that has tanks of these fish and you will soon discover that this is not a hobby to be taken lightly. Depending on the size and the highly prized coloration, these fish can run from $35 all the way up into the hundreds of dollars, and in some rare instances, thousands of dollars. It is one thing if a heron gets one of the smaller and cheaper goldfish; it’s another thing if it develops expensive tastes for the much larger and not easily replaced Japanese koi. That’s why we needed to find a way to persuade the heron to find other feeding grounds.
After our first experience with the heron, one of the professionals at a local garden center suggested we place a “fake” heron on the property. He said that these birds are extremely territorial. They won’t feed in a place where they see another heron. The trick is to move the fake bird, because these creatures are somewhat intelligent. We were doing this up until this season and we became rather lax in moving it around. We thought our herons had moved on. …We were wrong. This one was seen standing right beside the fake one, as it scanned the water looking for its meal.
A heron will stand for hours in one spot. It is the model of patience. It won’t move after it has settled into the water on its stilt-like legs. After the fish have settled down, one or two will make the mistake thinking the danger has passed, and come close to the surface. That’s when the heron sees its opportunity. This is not a bird that makes mistakes. It watches…and waits, and is most often rewarded for its patience. Since we knew the heron had been in the water we needed to come up with a way to create a barrier between it and our fish. Plastic chicken wire is the answer, we hope…
We bought a huge roll today and carefully placed it over the taller plants and the water. The mesh is too tight for the heron to get its long bill through. We hope it will be enough to persuade it to find another feeding ground. We will also be vigilant for fear the creature might get stuck in the mesh. We may not be pleased with its visit, but we don’t want to see it harmed in any way.
I was not pleased to discover that we had a heron problem again. My wife reminded me of something that I had forgotten. We have a huge ravine close to where we live. A small stream meanders its way through it and empties into a rather large pond. Over the years, the pond has become polluted, its water level down this year due to our dry conditions, and I would imagine the fish population is also down. The bird was just trying to survive and feed its family with its natural habitat at risk. It’s had to look elsewhere in order to survive. Our fish population was higher this year than most. We ran the risk of it being over-crowded. Nature provides the balance. We helped the creature in these difficult times. … My wife, ever the eternal optimist, ready to see the silver lining in any dark cloud.
I would be interested to hear from you if you share our passion for the outdoors. If you have created a pond environment on your property and have had heron problems I would like to hear about your experience. Feel free to post a comment. Maybe you have a unique insight into this. I’d also like to hear from environmentalists and professionals in the field of outdoor garden pond environments.
My radio show tonight will develop this theme since its taken up so much of my time in the real world. I hope you will tune in between 9 and 11pm.
Ernest M’Gaffey, in volume 7 of The New Teachers and Pupils Encyclopedia: Study For Instruction, published by the Holst Publishing Company in 1924, wrote,
“Grotesque and tall, he stands erect/Where the reed-riffle swirls and gleams–/Grave, melancholy, circumspect,/A hermit of the streams.”
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Don Jackson
Hello Don,
Thanks for another great program. Listening in Australia, via the Internet, I’m reminded of the year I spent in Toronto in 1995, and early morning walks by Lake Aquitaine with my (then) girlfriend. We’d met in Australia the previous year - she was an exchange teacher - and was amazed by our prolific and colorful bird life. I’d never appreciated it myself until I saw her wonder and excitement, and that enthusiasm has stayed with me to this day.
There was a heron spending the summer by Lake Aquitaine and she became as excited as a child whenever we saw it. It became the focus of our walks.
Now, many years later, back in Australia and married (to someone different), I live on a property about an hour from Sydney. We have a small dam for our horses and regularly play host to a heron family. For hours one or two will stand motionless in the reeds, or stalk deliberately through the shallows in search of prey. And without fail my mind drifts back to Toronto, to Lake Aquitaine and the lovely lady who opened my eyes to the beauty and grace of these (and other) exquisite birds.
- Richard RobertsonHi Don:
Now, I don’t have a pond, however while watching Canada AM a few days ago, Mark Cullen was on with Jeff and he was demonstrating a water sensor that squirted water whenever a culprit wandered within a few metres of the pond. Might be worth looking into! Good luck.
- Robin Cordner