How Do I Keep Blue Herons (cranes) Away From My Backyard Pond?

Having a few problems with blue herons in your backyard pond? You’re not alone! Many other infuriated gardeners have the dilemma of keeping these resourceful and calculating birds away. There’s no disputing that they are stunning creatures to admire, but sometimes, if you have fish that the family is sentimental about, they can become a minor annoyance.

Herons are creatures of habit; once they have accomplished doing something, it’s likely that they will attempt to do it again. If they like devouring the fish from your pond, it’s fair to say that they’ll make every endeavour to return for more. Should your pond lie at the very bottom of your garden, a great piece of advice can be to check up on it frequently throughout the day at inconsistent times. Typically, a bird may return to once of its favourite spots at a set time during the morning or in the afternoon, but by spoiling its fun and scaring it away, it will soon learn that you are vigilant over your fish, and it will stop coming. Therefore, it could be said that you hold the key to keeping your fish safe.

You may wish to invest in making the pond deeper than it is currently too, as it is easy for herons to prey on fish when they are in shallow water.

Alternatively, consider playing a heron at its own game, pinpointing its weaknesses. When a heron is on the lookout for food, it’s likely that they will be finding prey independently and without the support of other herons. Because of this, they can also be reluctant to find fish in an area where another blue heroin is hunting. This offers you a great opportunity to invest in a replica of a blue heron that will take pride of place on the side of your pond. Those annoying birds will be sure to take flight if they are fooled by your ornament!

This website has tips on how to keep them away but be careful because I believe that Blue Herons are a protected species in which case you can get in serious trouble if the department of game and fish disagrees with what your doing. www.ponddoc.com

Put tall solar powered lights around your pond about 6 inches apart this should keep them at bay as they like open spaces for a quick getaway and they fear they will be trapped good luck

Had the very same problem. Get you a blue healer dog I have 1 and after 10 days or so of taking the dog out to my tank and telling her to get the birds she will now do this on her own, she sits and watches for any bird to fly over the place and will chase them just a barking. The Blue Herons have left and haven't had any now for about a year. Good luck.

Yes you could buy one of those fake herons online. You can stick it in your ground and then move it around so the real heron thinks that it is a real heron.

Put fishing line  from side to side as many times as you like.you can still see the fish perfectly. John from london

My neighbors wife got a couple of those big pinwheel wind thingys for their small pond. The large pond he strung c.d. S. Something about the shine on them is confusing.

Those are good tips but not sure if all of them are legal. You should definitely double check with the proper agency to make sure what are you doing is ok. There are many ways to get rid of them without killing them though.

Rita
water damage