I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a feed available suitable for herons, during this very cold spell they have been frequent visitors to my wildlife pond only to leave still hungry.
Hi Dizzy Blonde and welcome to the RSPB Forum
As far as I know there is no such thing a Heron food.
Herons eat frogs and fish. Other foodstuffs are small birds and Voles
I would not encourage them into your garden at all.
If you have fish in your pond the best thing would be to net over the pond area.
I see that my local park pond in Bedford has nets alongs the sides of the pond, and I am sure it is to do with Herons eating fish stocks.
Hope this answers your question.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Unknown said: I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is a feed available suitable for herons, during this very cold spell they have been frequent visitors to my wildlife pond only to leave still hungry.
I was going to suggest a well stocked pond as suitable food for herons, but not sure that was the reply you wanted to hear.
They do have a fairly catholic diet, often eating frogs and toads aswell as small birds, slugs, etc, we occasionally see them feeding in the ditch near our house and cannot imagine that there is anything too exciting in there, so quite what they're after I'm not sure.
They do appear to prefer their food still wriggling, not sure if raw meat, fish or fat left out is a good idea and is also likely to attract rats.
Netting the pond may help, but at the end of the day if this is a true wildlife pond why should you stand between one wild animal and a meal, the heron is surely just part of the food chain.
I know herons are unpopular with people who keep ornamental finish, probaby don't like to see a fish that you have spent several pounds on dissapearing down a heron, I believe the idea behind the plastic herons that stand by ponds was to confuse the birds into thinking the territory was already held by another and to move on somewhere else.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" Mary Poppins
Hypothetically speaking if you were trying to feed a heron then whole fresh fish from your local fishmonger would be the most appropriate foodstuff to offer.
However, the grey heron will adjust to the harsh weather so it may not be neccesary to provide it with supplementary food. The sort of the tricks the heron has up its sleeve in winter include moving to coastal waters, fast flowing rivers and large still waters where fish may be obtainable. If this fails then they can often be seen in open fields where agricultural activities are going on. They will be more than happy to snatch a passing rodent and even large beetles in hard times. We have even heard of them trying their luck with rabbits and other birds.
Gardens with ponds are frequently visited by the heron, some people encourage them as they are elegant and stunning, those with expensive koi carp are usually not so keen and are frequently battling to keep them away with nets, fencing and floating pond discs. If your neighbours have prized fish then they may not be too keen for you to encourage the heron!
Assuming that your wildlife pond has no fish in it, the heron will simply check it out and leave to look elsewhere when it realises dinner is not on. It may return at other times of the year as they will take an interest in wildlife ponds when frogs are active.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Perhaps it was just washing its feet..!
Hi Juno
Maybe that is true too LOL