What's so flaming annoying is that, after six years, the local pain-in-the-derriere heron has discovered my pond and I now have to keep it netted. The two red ones were under the netting, so I presume they've hatched out this year. Luckily I was able to set them free. I think it's really sad that I have to do this, but I'm not going to take the chance of losing my fish. Incidentally, I was once told that herons eat frogs. According to my RPSB bird book they also eat small mammals, so maybe that accounts for the decline in my frog population? If I catch the blooming thing, I'll take it on a long trip somewhere and dump it where it can't find its way back.

I had my thinking cap on some days ago and I'm lucky that I have a couple of bushes near the pond that I can use to tie my netting to, along with a bamboo pole, leaving it free for the birds and other wildlife to come and go safely underneath.

Wilkinson's sell two types of pond/garden netting, one of which is very fine and isn't very visible over the pond. I would NEVER use this, the wider variety, or the usual green garden netting in my garden because I had a very upsetting experience years ago when a poor blackbird got caught up in it and died. Considering how I look after all my birds and creatures in the garden, I was absolutely mortified and decided to never to use it again. I now use either narrow gauge chicken wire or those mini plastic tunnels sold for veg rows.