So I'm sitting on the couch this morning, computer to my left, big ol' Miss Mabel the cat on my lap, and I notice she's looking at something outside. I turn to look at the window closest our driveway, and there's a giant whooping crane/pterodactyl sitting on the Honda's roof. It spreads its massive wings and floats off. I say "HOLY CRAP, MABEL! YOU SEE THAT?!" and she's looking back at me silently saying "YOU SEE THAT THING!" and we both turn to look out the window again. She jumps down and starts nervously licking.
Then I wonder why something so huge was so close to the house. And then I think about our fish pond (came with the house and was stocked when we bought the house four years ago). I run outside and not one of our 15-20 fish is out there. The pond is empty.
I had no idea this sort of thing could happen.
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| About this size. |
16 comments:
RIP, little buddies.
I am so sorry about your fish and pond! Had a half barrel container pond on our deck with plants and goldfish. Raccoons emptied it one night. :o (
terrible.
wonder why it took so long for the crane to start yard hunting.
maybe we've just been lucky.
Sorry about your fish :-(
They must have some contraption that keeps the birds out for future fishes…
My neighbors have a fancy pond but this fella enjoys the bounty whenever they re-stock: http://jeanoroid.com/cooper1.jpg
Oh man. Sorry about your little fish friends. :(
They are pretty big. And they will give you a mean look like YOU are the bothering them.
I have the same problem. That's the reason why I only get cheap goldfish, if the heron leaves my pond alone, they grow decent size. NO koi fish for my pond.
You should try getting a fake blue heron for beside your pond. Herons are territorial, and are not suppose to show up if another one is there. SO far has worked for me.
This was today? Was it raining when he appeared?!
They could be hiding. We've spotted a massive Blue Heron quite a few times stalking our pond, only to think he ate all of them! No sign of the fish for a week or two and then they get comfortable enough to come back out. Good luck!
So was it a great blue heron or was it a whooping crane? Cause if it's a whooping crane every birder for 200 miles is gonna be knocking down your door because that's a rare bird.
Ugh.... I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Look into pterodactyl proofing your pond before seriously restocking. Remember, he's got your number now. ;)
I blame my mother for the Whooping Crane mistake.
Totally a Heron.
yup..it was lightly raining when I saw him.
If you ever restock your pond, try getting a motion sensor scarecrow sprinkler. It will keep the cranes, raccoons, and others away.
It works on Bigfoots too.
We put a statue of one next to ours, like Jay said, territorial birds. No problem since "Rocky" took up residence.
A heron ate all my neighbors fish, too. Someone saw it just before it flew away, and that elderly lady was PISSED.
It's pretty upsetting to think of these creatures in the pond with nowhere to go.
There are three left out there. Saw them tonight. Hiding under small rocks. Terrible.
I can't say I ever thought that fish had this kind of memory/instinct/self-protection programming. Sad to think of them hiding for days.
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