I used a dreaded plastic heron, balanced at the edge of my small pond which seemed to work. Herons are solitary birds and avoid areas where other heron fish. Your pond looks as if you would need more than one, a flock perhaps?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are some very realistic plastic heron around.
Popular consensus on koi forums is that plastic herons don't work. Herons aren't stupid. If they fly over and see "a heron" they know there is likely to be food there. If they fly over again and the heron is still there, then there must be lots of food there. Eventually they become bold enough to check it out themselves.
You can tell when they've visited as the fish will be less bold than normal and the water may have an oily film over it.
Trouble with herons is they're all different in that, what works on one pond may not work on another. . You could try the floating rings or the motion sensor sprayers. Some koi keepers have even used electric fences.
I lost a number of fish a number of times but i haven't lost any to predation now for over 10 years.
What did i do?
I put up a sign saying "No Herons".
Seriously though, I dug. I dug out the shelves (heron steps) on 3 sides of the pond and made the pond deeper (5.5ft) with almost vertical sides and an overhang on one side. Herons prefer shelves or gentle slopes.
I also broke one of the "Pond Commandments"..... Thou Shalt Not Have a Pond Near A Tree.
This was a biggy. When the pond was built it was a small bush. It's now a small tree. The branches/leaves go over half of the pond, partially obscuring it from the sky. Looking at the garden on ariel maps, you can't really tell there is a pond there, even though it's 5m x 2.5m
Yes, the leaves and twigs are a pain in the autumn. The blossom is a nuisance. Bird poop a source of irritation and the peanuts etc they drop. But all of that is better than losing koi to herons.
I imagine pergolas would also work without the woe of leaves etc
I'm not sure how big a fish a heron could swallow but i'm guessing half of mine would be too big now since their necks are fairly slender. My largest was 55cm last spring so i'm guessing she must be 2ft now.
Note - She lives in the pond not the blue bowl. She is only in there to measure. A colleague i showed the photo said i was cruel keeping her in such a small pond. He thought that the blue bowl was her permanent home. Durrrrrrrr.
Another thing that can work with some herons is a staggered fishing wire fence.
Here's a Youtube Clip. I haven't watched it yet...
Missiles, whether launched by arm or catapult, had better not be too hard or heavy unless your house is completely isolated. Neighbours usually have windows, and some have greenhouses, conservatories, pets and children that could be harmed.
Yesterday I made the acquaintance of someone who has a large pond stocked with fish, at the seaside. He said the herring gulls occasionally take a fish, but they also chase off the herons, which take a lot more fish if they get the chance. I can let you have herring gulls! They destroy every defence I contrive to keep them off the bird table.
I have had a pond for several years now and so far am unaware of visits by heron. The pond is not large, only 6' in diameter but I came home to carnage last year when my neighbours 6 ducks found it. They ate several of the fish, left one dead on the slabs around the edge, smashed the pond weed and broke a large ornament which I had made in pottery classes.
Several months later Mr. Reynard put paid to the ducks and chickens in one visit, unfortunately leaving several of them so badly injured they had to be destroyed. At the same time I did have a slight feeling of retribution for my poor fish. This is about the 5th time the fox has called in for a free meal and finally my neighbours have given up keeping birds which despite building a large house and run, insisted on letting them run free range.
Oh dear Joyce Goldenlily, it seems that fate has it in for you and your pond. My former home had a small pond which contained several large Koi. Unfortunately my cat decided to try his luck fishing by jumping onto the marginals and flipping them out with his paws. I never had to worry about herons as he decimated the lot!
One other thing that will help is aeration. This won't be suitable for all ponds but is ideal in koi ponds. If the water is bubbling away like a jacuzzi it's impossible to see the fish until they come to the surface.
I usually have 1 x 60 litres a minute air pump running 24/7 on my pond. When it's warm like today i switch the second 60 lpm air pump on. Thats when i thought "Aaah of course....the jacuzzi effect makes the fish in the pond less visible from above"
If you don't have an air pump, get one. Or tinker with the return from your filter to create more aeration.
We tried a plastic heron decoy and it did not work at all. Wish I had gotten a photo of it standing right next to the fake one. I'd like to try one of these fake alligators. Something like this:https://www.gardenandpatiohomeguide.com/the-complete-alligator-decoy-guide/ Apparently all birds have an instictual fear of them even if they've never seen one.
We have a heron that visits regularly, the dogs chase it off if they are out but otherwise it fills up on frogs (of which we have literally thousands) however I do not have fish I might think differently if I did.
Posts
https://youtu.be/p0VoJINsLJ0
You can tell when they've visited as the fish will be less bold than normal and the water may have an oily film over it.
Trouble with herons is they're all different in that, what works on one pond may not work on another.
.
You could try the floating rings or the motion sensor sprayers. Some koi keepers have even used electric fences.
I lost a number of fish a number of times but i haven't lost any to predation now for over 10 years.
What did i do?
I put up a sign saying "No Herons".
Seriously though, I dug. I dug out the shelves (heron steps) on 3 sides of the pond and made the pond deeper (5.5ft) with almost vertical sides and an overhang on one side. Herons prefer shelves or gentle slopes.
I also broke one of the "Pond Commandments"..... Thou Shalt Not Have a Pond Near A Tree.
This was a biggy. When the pond was built it was a small bush. It's now a small tree. The branches/leaves go over half of the pond, partially obscuring it from the sky. Looking at the garden on ariel maps, you can't really tell there is a pond there, even though it's 5m x 2.5m
Yes, the leaves and twigs are a pain in the autumn. The blossom is a nuisance. Bird poop a source of irritation and the peanuts etc they drop. But all of that is better than losing koi to herons.
I imagine pergolas would also work without the woe of leaves etc
I'm not sure how big a fish a heron could swallow but i'm guessing half of mine would be too big now since their necks are fairly slender. My largest was 55cm last spring so i'm guessing she must be 2ft now.
Note - She lives in the pond not the blue bowl. She is only in there to measure. A colleague i showed the photo said i was cruel keeping her in such a small pond. He thought that the blue bowl was her permanent home. Durrrrrrrr.
Another thing that can work with some herons is a staggered fishing wire fence.
Here's a Youtube Clip. I haven't watched it yet...
https://youtu.be/qFsngqsB1To
Yesterday I made the acquaintance of someone who has a large pond stocked with fish, at the seaside. He said the herring gulls occasionally take a fish, but they also chase off the herons, which take a lot more fish if they get the chance. I can let you have herring gulls! They destroy every defence I contrive to keep them off the bird table.
I have had a pond for several years now and so far am unaware of visits by heron. The pond is not large, only 6' in diameter but I came home to carnage last year when my neighbours 6 ducks found it. They ate several of the fish, left one dead on the slabs around the edge, smashed the pond weed and broke a large ornament which I had made in pottery classes.
Several months later Mr. Reynard put paid to the ducks and chickens in one visit, unfortunately leaving several of them so badly injured they had to be destroyed. At the same time I did have a slight feeling of retribution for my poor fish. This is about the 5th time the fox has called in for a free meal and finally my neighbours have given up keeping birds which despite building a large house and run, insisted on letting them run free range.
I usually have 1 x 60 litres a minute air pump running 24/7 on my pond. When it's warm like today i switch the second 60 lpm air pump on. Thats when i thought "Aaah of course....the jacuzzi effect makes the fish in the pond less visible from above"
If you don't have an air pump, get one. Or tinker with the return from your filter to create more aeration.
Hope that helps.