An awful picture... and a question

[karen J]

First, the awful picture:



I had to zoom to the max, crop, add flash, and reduce back lighting. Sorry it's so bad!

Anyway, I think this is a Turkey Vulture. Am I correct? I know the picture is terrible.

All my large fish are gone, I wonder if he had something to do with it?  The raccoons don't bother my pond. The Heron does, of course. But this thing... he is GIANT.

So, now that my last big Koi is gone, I've decided to stock my pond with free fish. Native fish.  The birds can eat all they want, and I don't have to worry.

We're going to the beach today, so I'm going to bring a bucket and let the kids catch some fish.  I know we have Bluegill, crappie, Bass, & Walleye, in our lake. Don't know what any of them look like, though. 
Gosh, considering how many years I've kept fish (30+ years?) you'd think I'd know that by now. 

[LeeAnne151]

Yes, that is a turkey vulture. No, he didn't eat your fish unless someone else got them out of the pond and left them. They don't hunt, they eat carrion. They certainly would not swoop down and raid a pond. Someone else did the deed but he would have been happy to eat the leftovers.

[Bonnie]

Sorry about your fish Karen.... I'd bet the Heron is the culprit.

Ugly aren't they? 
They are BIG!

There's a huge dead tree about a mile away where they roost... at night it's an eeery site, I'd say a dozen of them are there.   

[LeeAnne151]

I forgot to say that I was sorry about your fishies.

[karen J]

 

I forgot to say that I was sorry about your fishies.

Thank you. It is for the better though. I always felt terribly guilty and irresponsible keeping Koi here. We're right near a wetland, with tons of predators. Crummy climate.

I guess you're right- Heron. I just didn't think that Herons would eat the large ones.

Remember this pic?



That fish was maybe 8", but the Koi was easily a foot.

[barb]

Oh my goodness, was that your fish the heron ate?  Maybe it happened again, how awful for you.   :'(

[Desertponder]

Yes that is a turkey buzzard as we call them here. And yes, they eat what is already dead like road kill, etc.
Really sorry about all your fish.

[joeyb5980]

Wow I have never seen those turkey vultures   How ugly!!!  As for the pic of the heron- what a wonderful pic, but horrible sight to witness!!  We have one around here but he only fishes out of the creek- our pond is too close to the house I guess....  Thank goodness!  Sorry to hear about your koi.  Hopefully you will have alot of enjoyment from the native fish.

[LeeAnne151]

A raccoon got the only Koi we ever had, someone gave it to DH. It was about 16" long. The coon made a lovely mess of the pond at the same time.    there were scales, fins and bones left too.

Birds tend to eat fish whole and leave no trace, unless they get scared into dropping them.

[Celia]

So sorry to hear something got all your fish.  I would have been wanting to throw a few rocks at that heron with a fish in his mouth. 

[miguynmkoi]

The picture with the fish in his mouth is so so sad!! 

Was it your fish?!?!?  :'(  If it was......you took a pic?!?!?  I would have had my hands around a certain birds neck! 

[karen J]

Thanks for all the kind comments. My kids are pretty upset about it. We didn't catch any fish at the lake today, but had lots of fun.

The picture with the fish in his mouth is so so sad!! 

Was it your fish?!?!?  :'(  If it was......you took a pic?!?!?  I would have had my hands around a certain birds neck! 

Actually, yes, it was my fish. But I can explain! I was nursing my newborn baby at the time. It got me so mad: I would get up out of the chair, unlatch the baby, and bang on the window. The Heron would fly away. Then, as soon as I sat down and started nursing again- there he was!  This went on forever. So I kept the camera with me and shot the pics through the window. The fish in the picture was one of many larger fish that the bird got.

Herons are very, very smart. He has the ability to see through our windows to see if I'm there. He knows when I am sleeping, he knows when I'm awake...

[Esther]

LOL @ Karen

[Vickie]

net your pond. Home depot has tree nets 14x 14 for $5.79 and it is just like a pond net I bought for $15

[Kittyzee]

No doubt about that being a turkey vulture, and yes they eat stuff that's already dead.  We have bunches around here and I'm glad to see them come back in the spring to eat all the dead racoons and skunks that people have hit on the roads.  They have a very practical use, even though they aren't the most attractive birds in the world!  They actually have that skin around their heads because they stick them into dead carrion and it's easier to keep clean than feathers.  Ugh  

I'm so sorry about your fish though.  Funny nursing story and the heron.  You need to get good with a slingshot or bb gun from your chair!! 

[luvmyasagis]

You could also put a string up around the pond a few inches high since they land close and then walk in. Since their legs bend foward instead of bending like ours they can't get over the string.

[perplexed ponder]

Great shot of the heron, shot with lots of expletives I bet!

Herons ARE smart! I fishlined my pond last year, but STILL lost fish. They will find a way. I just fishlined it again, but I put them at all differnt levels to make it more challenging. We'll see what happens.

Joey-
You have been lucky so far. My pond is right off the house by my sliding glass doors of the family room. I thought that was saving me. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME. I thought they must fish at the lake at the end of the street and didn't need to come here.....IT'S JUST A MATTER IF TIME!

[marla]

Karen, I'm so sorry about the fish :'(.  We lost 2 of our favorites and origionals a couple weeks ago.  We had most of the pond netted, same as last year, but the  cursed bird found an area unnetted or netted to get in, so now got another net and finnished it off, even netted the little pond as I noticed the baby  goldfish had gotten so skiddish they were trying to get in the rock crevases when I'd come near.

[sheepie]

Sorry about your fish  :'(

Bessie