Green heron fishing in my pond
An early-morning thief has been visiting my stock-tank pond for the past couple of days—this green heron.
Glancing out at the pond around 8 am two days ago, I spotted this fellow stalking my fish from the edge of the tank. He walked stealthily all the way around on his yellow, L-shaped legs…
…stopping now and then and staring intently into the water.
Then, a quick lunge with that long, pointed bill. I didn’t see any bright orange going down his gullet, so I assume he wasn’t getting my new goldfish but the gambusia (mosquito fish) that were unwary enough to come to the surface.
After getting at least two fish, he fluffed and ruffled his feathers self-importantly…
…showing off the iridescent sheen of his back feathers.
And then I crept too close, and he flew off into the trees. I read online that the green heron is one of the rare bird species that, like human fishermen, uses bait or lures to hunt. It’ll drop worms, insects, twigs, and feathers into the water, and then strike the fish it lures close. Clever!
But I wish he wouldn’t eat so many fish in my pond.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Way cool (an opinion not likely shared by the fish!) – and great photographs. Pretty impressed that its coming down to your suburban pond.
I never expected to see a heron of any type in my pond, RBell, but I guess fish there are as tasty as any. —Pam
We had a pond, in our old garden. It had grown from a container pond, to one in the ground, because we had goldfish that grew very big. They were seven years old and about a foot long, when a big Gray Heron came and had a feast. We came home and found him standing in the pond. He got all but two, then came back the next day. He swooped down from the porch roof and really startled us. That’s a really big bird! We were sad to lose our fish. They were really pets, by that time.
We have some Green Herons here. With the ponds around here, I think they mostly get frogs. They make an interesting sound, too.
What a shame about your pet fish, Linda. I hear about that happening all the time, and if it’s not herons it’s racoons that get them. Still, the green heron was a beautiful bird, and I felt privileged to have attracted it to my garden. —Pam
What a neat bird! Sorry about the fish, though. When these sorts of things happen in my garden, my husband always responds to my laments with, “well, you wanted a wildlife habitat, didn’t you?”
So true! In fact, I didn’t scare the bird off even when I saw him getting a few fish. I had fun watching him and photographing him (the little stinker). —Pam
You are so lucky! I think these are such beautiful birds. (Sorry about the fishies. Circle of life and all that)Terrific photos!
Thanks, Janine. Yes, it’s all part of the circle of life. That’s how I feel about the owls that roost in our owl boxes too, even if they get a few songbirds here and there (though mostly I think they eat roaches, moths, and lizards). —Pam
Great photo capture Pam. I love the way the edge is perfectly shaped for him to grasp. He will be after those goldfish though unless they are smart enough to hide. Hope not.
He will keep coming until all the dumb ones are eaten, I expect. I hope there are a few wily goldfish in there that are smart enough not to get eaten. —Pam
Sorry for the loss of fish, but agree w/ Circle of Life and all too…..We once had the most beautiful cat and a neighbor told my granddaughter he caught her eating fish from his inground pond. I was so embarrased, knowing they were expensive. Realized that was what was helping to keep her black coat so shiny. He covered the pond with a heavy grate with holes big enough for plants to grow thru and not obstruct the look of the pond, but would keep her from “fishing”.
A grate is a good idea, even for keeping young children out for their own safety. —Pam
Oh, I’ve never seen this bird before. He is a beauty and much smaller than the blue herons I’m used to seeing at the creek on my property. I hope he stays with the little fish and doesn’t get any of your goldfish. Interesting that he’s so smart, using bait. Fab photos.
Thanks, Sandy. I haven’t seen this one using bait, but I was fascinated to read that they have that knowledge. —Pam
Oh man . . . I hate when the wildlife eat my pets. Bad green heron. What will you do to stop him?
Nothing, Dee. I’ll just wait to see what happens. I hope there will be a few fish in there smart enough to elude him. —Pam
Your poor fishes. I hope it doesn’t get a goldfish. But isn’t nature grand??!!
Yes, I did enjoy watching him. I may feel differently if I see him every day eating my fish! —Pam
We have had good luck at work with fake herons, Canada geese and pink flamingos. We alternate them around the edge of the pond, move them each day, and it seems to work.
That’s a good trick, Les. —Pam
Pink flamingos are so versatile, Les!
Who knew, right, DJ? 🙂 —Pam
That first photo could be a painting by Audubon, Pam. So glad your shed is blue — what a backdrop. Might be time to issue Digging notecards…
Thanks, Denise. The blue shed doors really did make a nice backdrop—once the heron had moved around to that side. I discarded my photos of him on the other side, with a much less photogenic background. —Pam
He is a beauty, even if he is a fish thief! We had Green Herons in VA though have only briefly seen one or two here. Once I had a view of a Great Blue, Great White Egret, Green Heron and a Night Heron along a bulkhead, no lie. Of course there was no camera. Amazing sight.
Hope your fish are safe…. and not dinner.
What a sight, Janet! Lucky you, and you have it in memory, even if not on film. —Pam
Too bad about your fish, hope he doesn’t get any more, but it sure is a beautiful bird!
It really is, Debbie. I was excited to see it. —Pam
Even if he was eating my fish, I would feel honored at such a visit :-)! The photos are great, and I love how sleek and elegant he looks in the last one.
He’s a pretty bird, even if he is a fish stealer! —Pam
That is a pretty bird. If you want to close the sushi bar, you could try spreading pond netting across the surface of the tank for a week or two. Pond netting is a mesh netting used to keep leaves out of ponds. A couple of weeks should be long enough to get him to find another fishing hole.
When I had a small in ground pond, a great blue heron showed up looking for a snack. It was quite a sight, but I did not want him to eat my koi so I spread pond netting across the top of the pond and worked it around the plants that stuck up above the surface of the water. The bird came back a couple more times and stood on the netting. I guess he gave up and moved on since he could not get to the fish.
Thanks for the practical tip, Michael. I keep meaning to get some netting for the spring drop of live oak leaves anyway. Maybe this will spur me to do it. —Pam
GREAT photos!
Thanks, Cheryl. I can be stealthy too. 😉 —Pam
Yes, great photos! Sorry about losing some of your gambusia, though. We’ve got green herons in our neighborhood, too, and I’m waiting to see when one discovers our new stock tank pond. Check out a juvenile that went “fishing” in our VERY shallow bird bath last summer: http://sherylsmithrodgers.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkey-lurkey-and-someone-new.html.
Those green herons know a good lunch buffet when they find it. I’m just glad they’re too short to get into the pond, and must fish from the edges. —Pam
I must say I am actually envious… I too, am aiming for a wildlife habitat, so I’d feel very honored to have a visit from such a beautiful bird. I have three goldfish that I’m growing attached to that I wouldn’t want to see eaten, but easily 60 mosquito fish (from an initial 4) that I’d volunteer as a snack! If you need to replenish those, let me know… I’m beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed!
Gorgeous pics!
My mosquito fish have reproduced too, which is good since some of them are getting eaten! —Pam
He’s so beautiful! Looks very different from the type of heron we have in my area (Northern part of U.S.)
Actually, Spurge, you have green herons too. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, their summer breeding ground is all through the northeast and midwest. I’d never seen one before now either, though. They don’t seem to be as well known as the great blue herons, for instance. —Pam
Those are some amazing pictures – especially the one of him getting a fish. I hope your fish are smart enough to go hide…
I hope the goldfish are too, Renee. The gambusia are a bit more expendable—poor things. —Pam
What a great series of photos. We have a pond – with no fish but a fair amount of frogs – and BEAVERS! We are happy about the frogs, but not the beavers.
Are they destructive, Commonweeder? When my husband and I were newlyweds, we lived in an apartment complex in Raleigh that backed up to woods and a large pond where beaver lived. I never saw an animal, but we did see their dams and gnawed tree stumps. —Pam
Wow. Exquisite! What a lovely visitor! Good job capturing his antics, Pam!
Thanks, Kathryn. —Pam
I live just west of New Braunfels. I have been battling a Great Blue Heron for a year now. Magnificent bird, but I prefer my pretty water jewels. My pond is 8x 18 and not really conducive to netting, so my neighbor bought me an owl. I move the owl around the pond and have great pictures of the Heron eying the owl. Through a stupid accident, the pond got almost drained one night. The heron got some of my fish. I mourn the ones I lost. I did find out that there is a Heron nesting site near Boerne, so that explains why I get harassed regularly.
Yes, they are a part of nature that we gardeners encourage with our plants and ponds. But it’s hard to have an animal destroy what we’ve created (for me, it’s ongoing battles—trying to outfox—armadillos and deer). One of the other commenters on this post, who works at a nursery with numerous ponds, says they place heron decoys around their ponds and move them every day so that they appear lifelike. Perhaps that would work for you too. —Pam
We had a green heron but only once. I think our pond is too enclosed by big trees and it helps to keep out most flying predators.