We originally made our frame out of copper, which was quite pretty until someone pointed out that the rain would run over the copper and poison the pond. Drat!

Good luck

First of all - remember this: All raptors (hawks, eagles and owls) are protected by law. We all love our koi, but remain mindful in your options in solving your issue if indeed it turns out the problem is caused by a raptor.

Hawks can take fish, especially red tail hawks, but this is usually only if the opportunities are too great for them to resist. In lakes and streams, low water levels during the summer can trap fish in small pools making them easy prey for hawks. I don't know where you live, but eagles are very well known fish hunters as well, and this is especially true of bald eagles. One thing to keep in mind however is raptors usually like to fly over large bodies of water and ‘snatch’ an unsuspecting fish from the surface. I've never known them to sit on a bank and work to catch a koi in somebody’s backyard. To me, seeing a hawk near your pond is not enough proof of its culpability. I’ve seen smaller hawks standing, watching and bathing on the shore of my pond all summer long, but I’ve never seen them take a fish.

Herons and Kingfishers on the other hand can become a terrible menace to any pond owner, especially the dreaded Blue Heron. These beasts have been known to empty a backyard pond in a single day. In fact, a friend of mine lost all his koi to one Blue Heron in a single weekend while he was out of town. And as if this story wasn’t terrible enough, all the fish were too big for the bird to eat, but that didn’t stop him from snatching 18" koi out of the koi and then laying them on the grass when he finally figured out he couldn’t eat them. My poor friend found all his koi lined up in neat rows when he came home from his business trip.

A previous writer mentioned using two heron decoys or statues. This might work for you, but herons tend to be very territorial and extremely intelligent. If you’re going to utilize a decoy, then I would suggest using only one (that would seem more natural to a passing heron) and move it around the pond regularly. Keep in mind too the Great Blue Heron is also protected by law.

The best way I have found to deter a heron is with 20 lb fishing line. The secret to keeping herons away is understanding they really don’t like to land in the water. Instead, they like to land to the side of the pond and then walk in. I have a circular pond with several path lights running around the outside. I string the fishing line to each of the path lights twice (one line high and a second one low) and then between every other path light in the circle. This creates small triangles of line that the heron find extremely difficult to walk through. It doesn’t look too bad if you use clear fishing line, and it’s a lot less intrusive to the eye than a net. I hope this helps you.

They dive for fish from the air, they don't wade after them from rocks or banks.

A heron or kingfisher likely got the missing fish. I once saw a kingfisher grab a 7" shubunkin and swallow it whole before I could even yell.

The Koi Farm Inc.
Washingtonville, NY