So far so good, but I have been told by the neighbours that they have cleaned out ponds
in this area only a few years ago. I understand that a net should be placed across
the pond when winter comes.
Steve & Lynn Barlow from Blackpool may have come up with a good defence
against Herons.... "Our fish have had a terrible time. We built our
pond at Easter and were given 24 various goldfish to look after whilst our
friend moved house. Unfortunately, half were eaten by a heron and the liner
had been punctured with beak marks. We emptied the pond and repaired the liner
twice over the following months and ended up with only five fish. We couldn't
understand how the heron could get into the pond so we borrowed a surveillance
camera and set it up overnight. The heron appeared on the fence at 4a.m in the
morning and slowly and delicately stepped into the pond , waiting on some
occasions more than an hour before it moved to strike. Despite placing a criss-cross
of wires across and around the pond the heron has learnt to step over and
between them! In the end we think we have cracked it by placing a large mirror
on the fence close to the pond where the heron may be scared by it's reflection.
We haven't caught this on camera yet , but it hasn't returned for a few weeks."
If you have had any similar experiences Steve
& Lynn would be interested to hear.
