Blue Heron in my Koi Pond in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

Happy spring!!! Or is it? With all the snow on the ground, it's hard to look forward to warmer days--but alas, it is the first day of spring and it just wouldn’t seem like spring in the pond world without a word on the Great Blue Heron. As water garden koi pond owners, many of us have become familiar with the largest wading bird in North America.

With it's wide wing span, slow demeanor and it's prehistoric characteristics, this bird is hard to miss. Or it's just literally hiding in plain sight. 

Help: My pond fish just disappeared!

The heron is a very smart and very territorial bird, boasting excellent vision and high level of awareness of its surroundings and physical characteristics that match perfectly to koi ponds. This makes it not only difficult to spot but it also makes these birds able to gain distance and altitude very quickly when running away. With these qualities it is no wonder that pond owners often think their "fish just disappeared". Like camouflage, I have been looking right at a Blue Heron in my pond and not even seen it right in front of my eyes until it moved.

Blue Heron Activity:

Fortunately the activity of the Great Blue Heron is at the highest during spring when they have their baby chicks to feed. Eggs are usually laid from March-April and hatch within a month from the time that they were laid. The predatory level on our ponds seems to have a trend of slowing down dramatically once Summer starts coming around; but we pond owners still need to be on the lookout! I have seen blue herons here at the farm year round.

The most effective protection for your pond is netting, but how many of us really want to have a net on their pond all the time? Be aware that there are many types of predator control: heron decoys, motion detector deterrents, building fish caves and tunnels for your fish to hide, let your dog out to pee more...etc! It is our recommendation to use multiple defenses since there is not one single best defense.

Hunting Strategy:

If you see a blue heron at your pond, you can be sure that this was not by chance that it showed up. Herons tend to carefully watch to see what type of food is available, what type of human activity or other threats are going on (your dog may actually be helping to deter these winged-koi-eaters), and where is the best access point to your pond. Herons will take the time to figure out ways around fencing, strung lines, and other obstacles. They will also return again and again if eating is easy to do at your pond.  

Herons will wait YOU have left before swooping down for their prey. The worst part about heron is that they can clean out an entire pond in one day before you get home from work by swallowing any fish they can get into their mouths. A tragic reality is that a blue heron will spear larger pond fish in the area behind their head and flip them out of the pond before realizing the fish is too big to swallow---leaving them there to die along side the pond.

Signs of Blue Heron

If your fish are acting more skittish than usual there is a great chance that you ad a visitor that scared them-- i.e. a blue heron! Some of the most common "skittish" behaviors include your fish hiding, not being as friendly as usual, not coming out for feeding time or swimming more erratically in response to bumps and sounds. Some fish have been known to hide for a whole week or two before coming back out to play! For more information on why your pond fish might be hiding, read our blog.

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So What Now?

So now that Spring is here, Heron season is on! Make this year the year of growing your ponds population by protecting your pond with heron defenses. We can still win the battle with the local heron population. The more we know about the Great Blue Heron, the safer our ponds are.
For more specific information on your Lebanon County Koi Pond or Waterfall, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

Dreamscapes Watergardens services koi ponds and waterfalls in the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA