Carpe Diem: Heron Feasts On Fish
Chris Lowe writes: Our Heron is having some impact… two days ago I saw it catch three fish (about 3″-4”) long in 15 minutes. However the longer term impact is unknown.
Woods Mill had a similar but perhaps worse problem with carp being dumped in one of their lakes. They had to drain and removed 1,800 of them.
The Grey Heron in Queens Park. Photo: Simon Dack
I thought also you may be interested in the following reply to my email asking for help identifying the fish species (see photo) dumped in Queens Park Pond a couple of years back and now multiplying .
“The Environment Agency has confirmed this is a feral goldfish, based on the forked tail and shape of the dorsal fin among other features. Sadly not a Crucian carp – these are native and at risk, and far more valuable than the poor old goldfish which are so often dumped in this way. They do tend to multiply pretty quickly, so the advice is to remove them all as soon as possible to prevent negative impacts on pond biodiversity.”
The Grey Heron in Queens Park. Photo: Simon Dack