Pond Managment

Wading & Diving Birds

We hope you find this information not only interesting, but helpful, and beneficial. Take your time, read the article. If you have any questions, or need additional information, feel free to call (800) 433-2950 or visit us online.

Predacious Birds

Fish-eating birds can devastate your fish pond. To give you an idea of how much damage birds can do, a few years ago the hatchery manager at the Fish and Wildlife Service's Private John Allen Fish Hatchery in Tupelo, Mississippi stocked a pond with 5,000 paddlefish (spoonbill catfish). When he harvested the pond a few months later, he recovered 124 fish. He was puzzled because, as a Federal agent, he could shoot predacious birds and did so constantly. What he didn't count on was that Great Blue Herons fish at night. Upon learning this, he shot one, cut it open, and counted 104 paddlefish in the bird.

Wading & Diving Birds

These birds are divided in two basic types, wading and diving. Wading birds are the most common and include snowy egrets (a medium-sized white bird with yellow feet and a black bill), great egrets (a large white bird with black feet and a yellow bill), green herons (a small, dark green bird), and great blue herons (a large, blue- grey bird). The other type, diving birds, include ospreys, bald eagles, kingfishers, pelicans, and cormorants. Some of the larger birds eat one to two pounds of fish each per day. To make matters worse, pelicans and cormorants travel in large flocks and have been known to actually herd fish into a cove or corner, then clean up. On top of that, birds are the intermediate hosts of several fish parasites. Finally, these birds are protected by Federal Law. Some, like cormorants, are classed as migratory waterfowl and protected by international treaty.

What Can I Do?

So you don't want birds in your pond, and you sure don't want to be caught shooting (or even harassing) them. There are several things you can do to minimize the damage. If you are really serious about keeping wading birds out, you can put up a chicken-wire fence 18 inches tall at the waterline. Egrets and herons alight on land and wade into the water. You only need a fence too tall for them to step over to keep them out. By increasing the slope around the edge of the pond, you not only reduce the area birds are able to fish, but you also will reduce weed growth. On the other hand, allowing weeds to grow or putting riprap at the edge will give small fish a place to hide and restrict wading bird movements.

More Solutions....

Some pond owners have a great blue heron decoy at the edge of their pond. This works on a bird's sense of territory, keeping others away. These are sold as "confidence" decoys for duck hunters. Flambeau, Inc. makes one that sells for about $35. You can also take advantage of this behavior by catering to purple martins or barn swallows. Purple martin nest boxes are easily constructed or can be purchased from numerous stores or catalogs. Barn swallows will nest on any covered shelf or horizontal surface. Their mud nests are distinctive. Colonies of martins and swallows are most active early and late in the day, and their activity is distracting to wading birds. As an added attraction, both of these birds will eat a large number of insects such as mosquitoes.

In Conclusion