The tallGuard pond diary.

A heron tests the pond’s defences

The heron arrived at dawn throughout the week, repeatedly trying to find a way past the defence layers. By the end of the week, it seemed to give up and watched the pond instead from high in the trees.

The pond is around 4m by 7m, and the fishing line has held up well over the years. I previously tried hexagonal pond protectors, but found they offered very little protection and eventually became tangled into the pond plants.

When I saw the heron trying a different route, I added fishing line there too. It appeared to put the bird off, as though it realised something was not quite right.

The Heron Is Back

The weather has cooled in the UK, and the heron has returned twice in quick succession, right on schedule. The deterrent worked again, but the bird tried a different route this time. I added new fishing line to block that approach.