I had terrible problems with birds because I live close to a vlei.

I lost about 50% of all my stock and it is totally unpractical to put a net over my pond.

Initially I felt it would be a shame to kill them, but I could not take it any further.

I shot a Kingfisher while nibbling away on one of my Sankes. Photo herewith.




On the one hand I feel relieved, on the other hand I feel very guilty by doing so, especially after I saw how beautiful it is.

What are your views on the ethics thereof, what alternatives are there that really works. I have tried it all, fakes snakes, fake crocodiles, nothing worked.

Hi Fred,
Yes, it is unpleasant to kill birds that only do what comes naturally to them i.e. catch (our expensive) fish.

To keep the fish save from the kingfishers - we never leave the netting off.

We have had problems with a heron at our ponds and have put up fishing gut around the pond - about a metre high. That has shut down the restaurant and the heron has not been visitng us since for more than a month now.

See http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5966075-description.html if you want to get really creative.



Rezanne

Thanks for the reply. I have considered fishing gut around my pond, but even that is unnatural and influence the ambiance and atmosphere that I want to create. My dog guards my pond during daytime, but the Kingfishers normally pitch very early in the morning, before I send my dog outside for the day.

It is an ongoing battle! By the way, is the Kingfisher and Heron on the endangered specie list?

Fred wrote:

By the way, is the Kingfisher and Heron on the endangered specie list?

Hi Fred,
We must have thought of the same thing at the same time. I have knocked on the door of www.iucnredlist.org. Don't have sleepless nights over the Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima, Reusevisvanger) that you have shot.
Megaceryle maxima – Least Concern (http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/47744/summ).

According to the Zululand birding list (www.zbr.co.za/checklists/red-data-list.PDF) there are, however, two Kingfishers – Mangrove (Halcyon senegaloides, manglietvisvanger) and Half-collarded (Alcedo semitorquata, blouvisvanger) – that should not be killed.
Half-collared Kingfisher = Near-threatened; Mangrove Kingfisher = Vulnerable.

The search engine is quick and easy to use. As you didn't say which heron you have problems with, best you have a look for the one you have on the IUCN's red data list.

Rezanne

Hi Rezanne, thanks for the effort.

Another option is a Scarecrow Heron & Pest Repellent

What It Is:
This is basically a hybrid device of a motion sensor and a high pressure sprinkler system. The motion detector senses motion and sets off a sprinkler which really startles the birds into flight away from your pond. It works.

What It's Good At:
Repelling anything that either hates water, or is easily startled, like Herons.

Background:
Herons kill thousands of Koi from owner's ponds every year. They're beautiful birds but they're also ravenous. They will eat to satiety and then start spearing fish just for practice.

Pros
Affordable, easy to deploy. Effective.

Cons
Requires a hose-feed for pressurizewd water to be "on" to it all the time. Hose could be buried of course, and could also "tee" off your regular hose line for minimal interference but they are not readily available in South Africa.

One could perhaps use a normal mini home alarm sensor connected to a serene. I am sure the sirene will scare him away, and at least you will be notified of his presence.

This topic is close to my heart ... I spent almost 15 years to establish a great bird population in my garden and I am very happy with what I have achieved. I have made violent enemies on my path because of my zero tollerance for cats and don't care. A house cat is a killer of note and has no place in the environment because it destroys everything. The biggest impact of cats are on the food chain and this is not always noted.

However ... I built my ponds to enhance the ecology in my garden and hope to draw some more bird life here. Having said that I have decided that the Giant Kingfishers, herons and cormorants will get no welcome messages ... they are by nature veracious feeders and no koi pond can sustain the pressures from them.

My biggest worry are the fish eagles ... I placed the ponds so that they will not have a good attack and escape zone but I am still worried.