Anyone keep koi fish outside?

[Earlybird]

We recently acquired a Blue Heron (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron) as a regular visitor to our garden. While he is lovely to look at, I don't want our pond koi to be his supper.

Anyone have solutions for how to discourage him from stopping here?

PIL do. Fake heron is very effective apparently - there's also various heron wires available...

If he can't get out of your pond, he won't even try to stop there. If you have steep sides on it that will stop him.

What is heron wire?
Where would I get a fake heron?

Pond is man-made, so no gradual slopes at edges. It is probably waist deep (so hopefully too deep for a heron). It is also currently covered by a net to keep falling leaves out, which at least for the moment is keeping Mr Heron out too. But net is unsightly, and I don't want to keep it there year 'round.

Well, I found
a heron in the sale

cheap but rather manky looking

this rather expensive option

Ah, having read your last post properly, I'm guessing you already have option 2

Thanks for suggestions.

At the moment, my strategy is to either bang on the window or dash into the garden to scare it away. If it gets scared away enough, do you think it would leave us alone?

My stepdad was having same bother with heron fishing in his koi pond and since he bought big ugly fake heron from ebay.. he's not had any bother since... (fingers crossed!)

Fake Herons,supposedly work but my brother has a huge koi pond and leaves nothing to chance and has a net covering the whole of the pond.

Hope that helps

Have heard mixed reviews about effectiveness of fake herons. Have also heard that sometimes a fake snake at pond's edge will do the trick.

He visited us again last night at dusk. He/she (?) really is a magnificent bird, but I don't want our fish eaten for supper!

Any other brilliant ideas?