Need advice on keeping loons, cormorants, gulls and herons out of a fish pond
 

Howdy folks,

A good friend of mine has a small spring fed dugout with trout in it. The pond is very clear and due to the late spring melt this year is one of the few places with open water. As a result he has 4 loons camped out on his pond at the moment. They are eating his fish by the hundreds and he wondered what might work to get them off the pond and keep them out. At the moment they are just growing fish for fun, but might do some recreational fishing at some point. So covering the pond with netting of some kind may not be the best option.


Just wondering about options for managing avian predators on outdoor ponds.


Thanks,

Gillie.

Shotgun?

Scare cannon, flags on wire spread across the water. Or as mentioned.......

most birds do not like movement so some scarecrow type things floating in the dugout may be handy, as well maybe invest in a wildlife cannon.

Can you not dye the water to decrease the ability of the birds to locate prey?

Loons are probably passing through...if you see a Cormorant shoot first deal with the legal ramifications after! In truth you have to take care of it now...let them get set up and cozy your buddy will be dealing with them for years!

Wow, excellent advice right there.... :snapoutofit:

I've heard that a rope around a pond will keep Herons out, they can't land on water, and can't step over a rope. Not sure if it's 100% true or not, but makes sense to me...

12 ga. 3 " mag.....

Bear Bangers over the pond. It makes for a hard place to set up for the season with those going off. I too have a pond and deal with those issues

Stopherson

I deal with the same problem every year and have found a few things that work.
Before doing anything,consult Fish and Wildlife. Protected species need a scare permit in place to harrass them. In some cases a kill permit will be issued for certain species,but again talk to fish and wildlife.

The True blue pond dye works well,not only lowering visability of the fish to predators,but also blocks the suns rays from warming the water.Ponds will have water temps that are several degrees cooler than untreated ponds.
Drawback......the dyes are not CFIA approved

The single most effective deterant on all the listed species is a avian laser.The very hi powered numbers work well,you just have to be there to shine it at them.....can be very time consuming.

A electric fence takes care of all Heron issue's.
Loons are tough to control.....your options are pond dye and laser,other than that look the other way.

Seagulls are Federal birds and believe it or not a scare permit is needed.
A pyrotech pistol with silver screechers works the best on these winged rats,the laser works very well too.They cause me a ton of grief over the course of the summer,not only do the big Heron Gulls grab fingerlings,they also start eating the floating food,so essentially you are feeding the gulls as the fish usually stop feeding when the gulls show.

Cormorants

The single most effective device out there is a eagle kite flown at the edge of the pond.Makes sure to move the kite ever couple of days or they will get used to it.Silver crackers work as does the Laser,however you have to be there.A Cormorant will consume 1.45 lbs of fish per day and can dive to nearly a hundred feet to catch every trout in a pond if left unchecked.They will consume up to a 1.25lb trout and bite larger ones up to the 2 lb range,creating a very nasty cut in the fishes side from the needle sharp hooked beak.Mortality is high on the "bit" fish .
If you are having problems with them,again go to Fish and Wildlife.

Best of luck,you ate going to need it!!!
NW

22 RF, 223 or equivalent. Selective, lethal, non-toxic. Shoot, shovel and shut up. End of issue. May not be politically correct but it is very effective.

The only legal way is to net off the dugout

Any thing else is only a temporary or minor deterrent

I heard that weeds can be effective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GznhT__PXs

This should do the trick.

Sounds strange but get a gator decoy to float around your dugout.

Preying birds
 

Go with king Ralph's suggestion. SSS. problem solved.

lmao

Ah the meat head ralph responce,years and years of killing innocent wild life just doing what it does naturally. Does the method have a final solution or do you just kill till ttheres no loons and such left???
Id suggest letting the pond naturalize weeds , trees and such to give fish cover ive heard of the dyeing method not sure how leaga or effective this is. A net covering the pond is very effective mind and put flagging or other visible markers on net to stop birds landing.
Some real conservation minded ralphs out there and we wonder why AB gets a bad rap well done.

Sorry, Just like to see who I can get a rise from with the old king Ralph quote. :thinking-006:

It's amazing (and sad) how many people complain about how thieves, vandals and similar don't receive nearly the punishment they should, but when faced with wildlife doing wildlife things, their first solution is to illegally kill said wildlife and steal it from the greater public. Well done outdoorsmen, well done.

As per your problem, netting is likely your best option. Best of luck to you.

The only other solution to your bird poblems is to only stock fish in the 2 lb.+ range. You will pay more for the fish and can't put as many but you won't loose any. And then you can fish for bigger fish and if you net them out for winter, they are nice size for the table.
I know a fellow that stocks fish between 2 and 5 lbs. in his dugout. The dugout doesn't winterkill so there are some hawgs. And he hasn't had bird problems since.

think about it from their perspective he is paying good money to have these fish and those darn birds are eating them pretty time consuming and expensive to put netting on and take it off when you want to fish.

I understand that. That being said, think of it this way. Imagine I was a landowner (I am not) and I were to have a problem with deer eating my trees. This is costing me money, and all the solutions (such as putting up protective fencing) are expensive and detract from the function (beautifying my yard) of the trees.

Now if I was to go on the forum and say that my plan was to set up a blind and spend the week blasting every deer that wandered into my field of view (out of season, no tags, over limit) I would be crucified as a poacher, and rightfully so.

That withstanding, a number of people seem to have no problem suggesting we shoot a number of federally protected species of which no legal harvest at any time or place exists. Killing loons, grebes etcetera--even on your property, even though they inconvenience you--is poaching wildlife from the public to which they belong, plain and simple. Anyone who does so is no better in my opinion than someone sitting with a 5 gallon bucket and a pickerel rig in the North Ram, or shining fog lights from the back of a 4x4 into a field in the middle of night, looking for something with 4 legs and a heartbeat.

x10.

X2, and not strange at all when you think about it. A friend of mine did this, problem solved, no f&w required. One gator on the bank "sunning", one floating in the pond. Move em every few days. Most migratory predatory birds are keenly aware of what a gator is and does, and few will risk it.

Edit: one more political rant derail and those responsible will be reported. Go back to the general section.

Agreed.

It is illegal.

Giving advice in respect to killing protected migratory species such as loons and herons could prove complicity.

Nets, scare crows, noise makers should work. Timing is critical.

You could even try floating some predatory decoys.

Who knows...an alligator or orca floaty may be odd enough to scare them.

You may have to experiment as those birds are smart. Loons and grebes and herons will come within 10 feet of me in Calgary.

Stocking bigger than 16-18 inches will help.

I vote netting
 

just because I happen to have a couple for sale on B & S!:sHa_shakeshout:

You this comment got me thinking and you are most certainly right. I never knew cormorants were protected thus why I suggested shotgun.

After reading this it changed my perspective thanks for pointing it out.

As for the bird situation try bear bangers, fire works and other non lethal deterrents.

On a side note I wonder how many farmers do kill game cause they are bothersome or how many pond owners kill birds would be interesting to find out but no one would admit to that.

Get a pair of swans. No more problems with smaller birds.