"sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 24/1/03 9:10 pm:


In article , sacha
writes
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 24/1/03 8:55 am:


In article , sacha
writes
snip
Apparently, the important
thing is to stop the heron wading in because that's when they catch
the
fish
and (I'm told) they have fish attracting scent glands in their
ankles.

Hmm. Whoever told you that was having you on!

Possibly. But they were passing it on as a bit of 'folklore' they'd
been
told themselves. I keep meaning to post a query on a wildlife site -
must
get round tuit!

Err, you won't get a different answer, or at least not a different one
that is correct :-))


But how do you know or indeed how do I know that you know? ;-) Are you a
heron expert?

Yes, he is - anything with beak and feathers, Malcolm can probably give you
chapter and verse (and he is very knowledgeable about most wildlife, not
just birds, too).

Although Herons do not have fish attracting scent glands on their ankles,
one heron has been observed dropping bits of bread (filched from people
feeding ducks) into the water to attract small fish within striking range.

Incidentally, I've tried the 'string around the perimeter' technique to
deter herons from my pond, and I've still lost fish.