Any Bird Experts Here?

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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:16 am

OK. First off, apologies for the crappy photo. I'll put up a better one later.

This bloody thing landed on our lake a couple of days and set up home. I think it's a cormorant. Mind you, it's a big bastard. The bird on the right is an adult heron and the new-comer is way bigger.

We don't mind the heron as the fish in the lake have a chance - they can just stick to the deeper water and he's screwed. But the cormorant (or whatever it is) is diving the lake and so none of our poor fishies stand a chance.

We've tried running down to the lake and chasing the bastard away but he just comes back a few minutes later. And he obviously doesn't give a shit about other birds. So how do we get rid of him?

No. I don't want to shoot him and no, I don't have a cat big enough to take him on. Any ideas?

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Hard to tell from the small photo, probably is a cormorant, possibly a shag.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:23 am

Too big to be a shag.
I'd say it stands about a metre high.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Hard to tel but it does look like a cormorant.
Think the only real diffrence between cormorant and shag is the crest.
Does it do the classic standing with wings outstretched?

Any way try http://www.cormorants.info/ for ideas.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:39 am

Google found me this:

STUDY USING AN INFLATABLE POPUP SCAREY MAN

I'm a bit dubious of any study where one of the authors is a Junior O King, mind you. Or from Mississippi.
Read it, though, it's the best thing I've read all day.

I also found a commercial solution using lasers, maybe have a go with a laser pen every time it lands?

Quote:

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) :
It is possible to optically scare cormorants up to a distance of 2.5km by specific and direct laser action on the dormitories in order to provoke the mass desertion of the birds using DESMAN laser model FL_R_005 . These devices only project a laser beam without bullet or shot. Its application is silent and causes no environmental disturbance. The optical method of cormorant scaring was developed in France by DESMAN and is commonly applied in other countries.
The optical scaring of cormorants is provoked by the perception by the bird of a high contrast between the luminosity of the surroundings and the red laser beam or its image which are projected in the direction of the bird by the user in the required luminosity conditions. Efficiency is maximal between dusk and dawn as well as in cloudy weather conditions.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:55 am

Nanny Ogg wrote:

Does it do the classic standing with wings outstretched?

Like this?

Gotta admit, I'm not too worried about what it is (although the lake is 9 miles inland so having a cormorant there would be kind of a novelty).
I'm more concerned about getting rid of the bastard before he eats all the fish.

@Roy. I've actually got a laser pen. I might give that a go!!!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:13 pm

Looks like a cormorant to me. If you are worried about your fish can you let a dog loose in there to scare the bird off? Unusual to see them so far inland but if the weather's bad on the coast or it's lost or possibly sick it may be stopping over for a while to recuperate.

I once saw a cormorant swallow a huge eel and it's whole neck was twisting and kinking as the eel struggled to escape. Eventually the eel won and slithered back up the bird's throat and back into the water. Ew gross.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:15 pm

I'd go for the popup scarey man myself, especially when fitted with the propane exploders!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:27 pm

http://wackywavinginflatablearmflailingtubeman.com/
I was gonna say Heron when I first saw your photo but obviously it isn't.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:36 pm

Quote:

And, as into the tiny creek
We stole beneath the hanging crag,
We saw three queer, black, ugly birds—
Too big, by far, in my belief,
For guillemot or shag—
Like seamen sitting bolt-upright
Upon a half-tide reef:
But, as we neared, they plunged from sight,
Without a sound, or spurt of white

Stay well away from it.

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

As a single animal, would it really do that much damage to the fish stocks?

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:08 pm

^^^ He spends all day fishing.
The little bastard is in Cormorant Heaven. If I don't get rid of him soon, he's going to be too fat to fly away.

Master Baiter Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 146

MMMMmmmm dinner time...

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:50 pm

he/she will go on until they are all gone.
As this one did Wink

Will swim underwater for minutes to get the last one!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:01 pm

What about pond netting. Its very popular here for small ponds. They have them up to 200' X 50'.

http://www.cascadenets.com/barrier_netting.php?gclid=CLfY3PSWx5QCFRIuagodBCfQjw
Cannon netting works too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX-8WIg6LMI&feature=related

Substitute fish for Doritos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rad8fhue3Xg&feature=related

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:29 pm

When I used to manage a property that had ponds and a problem with herons, we put up a model of a hawk that seemed to do the job, for a while at least.

Some friends of mine have a pond and again in order to scare off the herons they have some sort of automatic system that covers the pond either with a laser or ultrasonic beam which when broken triggers a sudden burst of water which scares them away. The pond is much smaller than yours though and I gusss if the bird dives from above it might be below water by the time the spray got near it.

A shotgun is my recommendation.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:38 pm

Before:

After:

You know he wants it. Wink

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:47 pm

@ Rorschach,
Herons have to walk into the water so a simple (electric) fence does the job there, cormorants as you said can land on the water or dive straight in. They can be tamed and put to work for you though. Japanese fishers use them to fish for them. I don't know if they are protected over there though.
@Gnasher

Quote:

Unusual to see them so far inland

They are common here, 1500 miles from the ocean in South East Alberta. Or are there two kinds salt and fresh water ones?

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:58 pm

They're protected here too so blasting him isn't really an option.
At the moment, we've decided to just set the dogs on him every time he lands. They can get down to the lake in about 30 seconds so he won't have time to do much if we let them go as soon as he lands. They can probably hit him and scare him away before he makes his first dive, so hopefully he'll get the message that there aren't going to be as many free dinners as there have been over the last couple of days.

I'll give the laser pen thing a go tomorrow afternoon if he ignores the dogs.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:09 pm

Just for fun, a remote controlled electric speed boat should make him move fast and give you (and your kids) a healthy hobby away from the computer Laughing

Just bubbling idea's here Wink

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:59 am

In the northeast US, we sometimes have issues with Canada Geese all year and the golf corses can't stand them(They poo all over the place). The golf courses activly hire out dogs to chase them away. I knew someone who did this and he was saying that when they chase the geese, they'll fly to the next golf course. Then they'll hire him to chase the geese off who'll fly to the next course...around in circles over time and the dog owner is raking it all in.

*** BANNED *** Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Posts: 2049

Slightlyoutofit wrote:

No. I don't want to shoot him and no, I don't have a cat big enough to take him on. Any ideas?