Catching up ducks

[DIDO.1 22,845]

We have 100 ducks on a pond that they don't seem to like. They have found a pond in a garden 500 yrds away. Now this garden and house is the only place we can't go near....the owner is radio rental. 

Once a day the ducks walk to our pond, feed if we have put food on and then walk or fly back. We have lined guns between the two ponds but they just fly at head height straight through the guns. I told the guns to shoot em even if low....they did....so now the ducks fly around the guns and straight for the forbidden pond. So I surrounded the pond, and stood a couple of guns as near to the enemy pond as I dared. Again we shot em as low as we dared just to try and stair em up. Again they fly straight as a die straight for the forbidden pond. 

So I'm going to try and catch em up and release em on the river half a mile away, there loads of wild duck down there and we feed various inlets, shallow areas floods 

My biggest concern is if we stop feeding them and they start wasting away and look like skeletons on the forbidden pond once the weather goes really cold. I begrudge feeding them on our pond. Obviously if they are on his pond it's his issue, he can flush em off if he doesn't want em there. But equally he could send photos to god knows who and draw attention to our private, almost hidden estate. It's a bit sensitive with our landowner at the minute as well as she's just had a massive stroke and thought our lease is safe we don't want to create issues for the wider family.

So long story short.... anyone any experience of catching up ducks on a pond?

[the monkey 339]

If you catch them  I would imagine they will fly back to the forbidden pond.   

[BEARINATOR 2,872]

Keep going back unless you make it more appealing to them 

[jok 3,322]

Is there any way you could set up a deterrent as in fox decoy or similar? Jok.

[Chaff 3,622]

The French have judas ducks that they lovingly look after and clip wings, they attract the wild ones they all get fed and in this case would be put away in an old caravan overnight when it was shooting season people would pay per bird and he would release how ever many they payed for. Probably not much help Dido I know  

 

[Daniel cain 46,028]

Could you not speak to the nut job and ask him if you could place a couple of bop decoys around the property ,edge of flight pond?...get one or 2 on them long poles? something like this maybe

Extendable Hawk Kite Bird Deterrent with 2.5 Meter Rope for Home Outdoor Garden

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

Bird Kite only,Without Pole. The kite with the reflective eyes and Birds hate shiny reflective objects that move, and will...

 

[Borr 6,289]

If they're hungry they're usually less spooky, he must also be feeding them I guess . Are you feeding wheat? Maybe next lot keep them in pens a bit longer if you're over feeding then they can just feck off and get all flighty , catching up wise I'd set up a pen (like partridge) and use mesh funnels , but have plenty of traps and wires running. Regards the other pond if it's a safe haven and being fed you've little chance. Maybe use your pond for some flighting evenings?

[DIDO.1 22,845]

22 hours ago, Borr said:

If they're hungry they're usually less spooky, he must also be feeding them I guess . Are you feeding wheat? Maybe next lot keep them in pens a bit longer if you're over feeding then they can just feck off and get all flighty , catching up wise I'd set up a pen (like partridge) and use mesh funnels , but have plenty of traps and wires running. Regards the other pond if it's a safe haven and being fed you've little chance. Maybe use your pond for some flighting evenings?

Apparently the pond has been used for years for a duck drive and they have always been fine, normally going to another pond in the other direction which though it isn't ours we have permission to flush em from the place guns between the two. It didn't help that one of the guns kept taking his dog to our ducks trying to get em flying before they were ready, think this made em feel unsafe there. 

The forbidden pond is owned by a couple with mental health issues. Long story. But we aren't going to go near it. We have a paradise on our estate and it's not worth creating issues for 100 ducks. 

If we put em on the river some may fly back but they will be the fit wild ish ones that we aren't worried about. The fat lazy tame ones can go on a big river that's full of wild fowl and either get fit and wild or get washed into the Irish sea . 

I think a pen with wire mesh tunnels is the way forward

 

[DIDO.1 22,845]

In future we will just use our ponds for flighting..... I hate released duck. 

[comanche 3,060]

On 06/11/2023 at 07:57, DIDO.1 said:

We have 100 ducks on a pond that they don't seem to like. They have found a pond in a garden 500 yrds away. Now this garden and house is the only place we can't go near....the owner is radio rental. 

Once a day the ducks walk to our pond, feed if we have put food on and then walk or fly back. We have lined guns between the two ponds but they just fly at head height straight through the guns. I told the guns to shoot em even if low....they did....so now the ducks fly around the guns and straight for the forbidden pond. So I surrounded the pond, and stood a couple of guns as near to the enemy pond as I dared. Again we shot em as low as we dared just to try and stair em up. Again they fly straight as a die straight for the forbidden pond. 

So I'm going to try and catch em up and release em on the river half a mile away, there loads of wild duck down there and we feed various inlets, shallow areas floods 

My biggest concern is if we stop feeding them and they start wasting away and look like skeletons on the forbidden pond once the weather goes really cold. I begrudge feeding them on our pond. Obviously if they are on his pond it's his issue, he can flush em off if he doesn't want em there. But equally he could send photos to god knows who and draw attention to our private, almost hidden estate. It's a bit sensitive with our landowner at the minute as well as she's just had a massive stroke and thought our lease is safe we don't want to create issues for the wider family.

So long story short.... anyone any experience of catching up ducks on a pond?

The best duck catchers l used when l was a Keeper were made from partridge pen sections. Someone  has already mentioned using them.

Obviously you could stake out a rectangle or horseshoe  of wire if you haven't any pen sections ; the bigger the better to give the duck confidence to enter en-mass.

Top view. Obviously it needs a roof of netting or pen sections to stop them flying outStart off leaving the front open and feeding inside the enclosure for several days . Then push the "wings" inward so they form a funnel. You can get a lot of ducks in one go if it goes well.  Open the wings and feed for a few days, then repeat. It might be worth feeding the ducks in a pen next the river for a week or so if it's practical.

It could also be an opportunity  to get a few shot-free birds for the freezer

Edited November 12, 2023 by comanche