A Norfolk man's koi fish vanished from his pond.
It turns out some birds were using that backyard pond as an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Since we ran the story, people have been sending in suggestions on how to take action and stop it.
Hungry egret hunts Norfolk man’s pet koi
Several koi fish have been disappearing from backyard ponds in Hampton Roads over the past few weeks.
One of those ponds belongs Fred Barron of Norfolk.
We brought you his story on Monday about how an egret attacked his fish and emptied the pond.
“I didn`t want to put a net or screening over the pond because it takes away from the aesthetic view of the pond. But what`s the use of having a pond with no fish?” says Barron.
Sperry Davis, a NewsChannel 3 engineer, had the same problem like Fred when his family's koi vanished a few years ago.
“We were able to spot a blue heron that had made a meal out of our koi,” says Davis.
That's when Sperry and his wife took action.
They bought a net and placed it over their pond and since then, they haven't had any problems.
“Sometimes they come to visit, but yeah, they don`t stay around,” commented Davis.
Fred isn`t the only person who has had problems with fish disappearing from his pond. NewsChannel 3 has spoken to several other people here in Hampton Roads.
While one viewer suggested hanging fish filament over the pond, the NewsChannel 3 viewer who owns a pond came up with creative ways to deter predators by hanging flashy Christmas candy canes and a plastic table cloth near her pond that will frighten animals away.
“Anything that comes up here, they have no fear - no natural fears. And they become just easy targets,” says the viewer.
Since our original story aired, Fred has built a cage over his pond.
And though it isn't complete, it's just one way he's taking action to fix the problem.
