Herons don't tip over plants, that the raccoons, imo. If neither has
captured a meal at your pond, repelling will be much easier. I use a motion
sprinkler on both my ponds, started using one when a raccoon made a huge
mess out of mine. It didn't catch any, but scratches were evident on my
biggest fish sides and shredding of the tail when it got away. The
sprinkler was hooked up before its return (assuming it did return) and I've
never had a problem since.

I had the motion sprinkler on a water timer so only had to worry about it
if I got up really early or went out really late (a rare thing on both
counts). Then last summer a neighbor called to tell me a big bird was on my
roof. This was around noon, so now it is on 24/7 and we're all trained
(from wet experience) to turn it off and on (notes on the door in and out
help) as we come and go.

Your pond is very pretty, amazing how that heron blends right in, except
around the swimming pool, may need a sprinkler there while the kids are
swimming if it is as ambitious as my raccoon that thought it could catch a
24" butterfly koi. ;o)

http://www.km01.com/index.html has them for $53.95 out of Oregon, no sales
tax, and very fast shipping (at least to Washington). ;o) ~ jan

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 13:03:43 -0400, "Scott M." wrote:

I'll look them up. Thanks. I would never kill the bird. They are so
beautiful. In my neighbourhood we have plenty of deer, black bear,
porcupines, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks and other assorted
critters. I had been suspecting raccoons of getting into the pond and
knocking over rocks and plants, but now I know about the heron. The raccoon
goes for easier meals in my garbage cans.

Scott



"Ka30P" wrote in message
...
Tips for herons, egrets and other fishing birds:
- bird netting over the pond, usually the quickest method
- put in an pond shock fence, lays out over the water at the edge
- a motion activated sprinkler
(go to froogle.com to find these products and different vendors
and prices)
- Migratory Bird Act forbids lethal methods,
heavy fines and jail time take away from pond time ;-)

good luck!
kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~