So I've been reading up on the feeding habits of herons. You see, our pond used to be full of fish....4 large koi (very large - two of them are over a foot long) and several smaller pond goldfish. I got the pond goldfish from a friend, she was filling in her pond so I bought 5 of them for my dad.
When you approach the pond the fish will swim up to the top of the pond to be fed. Apparently since last weekend with the heron incident, no one has seen the goldfish. All the koi are still there....but no goldfish. It leads one to believe that sneaky Mr. Heron was enjoying himself a feast before Snickers caught him.
It seems as though the Great Blue Heron (which is the breed native to our area) not only wades for food like other herons but can also fish in deeper water and will sometimes spot their food from flight. So while I'm still not sure how he managed to fish out our goldfish from such a deep pond, I'm pretty certain he did.
What I can't figure out is why it was even near my yard. Most Herons do migrate but apparently not always, they are hearty enough to withstand our winters. So why was this water bird in a residential neighbourhood that is not significantly close enough to a watershed or lake to warrant such a bird hanging about? It's a mystery to me.
But, regardless the reason, he's got a full belly now and I know now it's not the raccoons I need to worry about.
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