Bit of a strange one.....

Shoot2kill

These days I have the larsen traps out by a chicken shed as the owners gave us a shout to say they were getting trouble from greys and mags at the eggs!

Now here's the funny bit...... They also have a few ducks floating around the place as there is a really nice natural pond in a small paddock beside the yard. But yesterday the lady of the house phoned to say that there has been 3 cranes flying in and out of the pond and that she has actually witnessed them, well one of them anyway swiping a duckling from the pond! I never thought they would do such a thing but she is sure of what she saw.

So my question to ye is what can i do, if anything, to help the situation. I don't think these birds can be shot can they?

Any advice is much appreciated.

deeksofdoom

Get a big plastic crane and stand it by the pond, it should stop the other birds taking ducklings.

pistonbroke

More likely to be a Grey Heron - and no you can't shoot'em or poison 'em.

J.R.

It's more than likely a Grey Heron, as stated, and they're protected and cannot be shot.

They will take ducklings and larger....check 'YouTube' and you'll see clips of them taking rats, rabbits, etc.

My father had all of his goldfish snatched by two over a number of days.....had the fish for years and some were nearly a foot long.

The best protection is to cover the pond with netting (looks unsightly) , to protect fish, but no good if pond used by ducks.

My father put out the plastic heron and it works to some degree, especially if you move it around the pond....they cop very quickly it's artifical if in the same position all the time. But, after a while, they get brazen and last Tuesday one perched beside the artifical one and just 'shouldered' it, knocking it over!!

After that he placed short lengths of bamboo cane around the pond's perimeter and has wrapped fine fishing line around these at various heights. It's working at the moment as the heron cannot see the fishing line....but as soon as his legs hit off it he flies off in panic....can't figure it out!

This could work with ducks as you could keep the fishing line high enough for the ducks to travel under.

tiny-nioclas

Probably a grey heron alright, i saw one catching a rat and eating it whole two weeks ago when i was going fishing, i was shocked!

Shoot2kill

J.R. wrote: »

It's more than likely a Grey Heron, as stated, and they're protected and cannot be shot.

They will take ducklings and larger....check 'YouTube' and you'll see clips of them taking rats, rabbits, etc.

My father had all of his goldfish snatched by two over a number of days.....had the fish for years and some were nearly a foot long.

The best protection is to cover the pond with netting (looks unsightly) , to protect fish, but no good if pond used by ducks.

My father put out the plastic heron and it works to some degree, especially if you move it around the pond....they cop very quickly it's artifical if in the same position all the time. But, after a while, they get brazen and last Tuesday one perched beside the artifical one and just 'shouldered' it, knocking it over!!

After that he placed short lengths of bamboo cane around the pond's perimeter and has wrapped fine fishing line around these at various heights. It's working at the moment as the heron cannot see the fishing line....but as soon as his legs hit off it he flies off in panic....can't figure it out!

This could work with ducks as you could keep the fishing line high enough for the ducks to travel under.

Thanks for the tips. I think ill try that one about the fishing line. Id say the plastic crane might work but id say only for awhile as already said above. I must check out a few of those clips on you tube. I never thought of them as a predator to things like ducklings or rats. I suppose ya learn something knew everyday...

Birdnuts

Shoot2kill wrote: »

These days I have the larsen traps out by a chicken shed as the owners gave us a shout to say they were getting trouble from greys and mags at the eggs!

Now here's the funny bit...... They also have a few ducks floating around the place as there is a really nice natural pond in a small paddock beside the yard. But yesterday the lady of the house phoned to say that there has been 3 cranes flying in and out of the pond and that she has actually witnessed them, well one of them anyway swiping a duckling from the pond! I never thought they would do such a thing but she is sure of what she saw.

So my question to ye is what can i do, if anything, to help the situation. I don't think these birds can be shot can they?

Any advice is much appreciated.

I wouldn't lose the head over this - they do take the odd duckling but wouldn't be a signficant source of such losses compared to the likes of mink etc. Indeed they take much more vermin in the form of rats and even mink etc.:)

PS: These birds are herons not cranes(which haven't bred in this country for hundreds of years and are now only rare visitors)