A photo taken from my office desk a couple of days ago & a cropped section of it;



I also had a Heron 20` from me a couple of weeks ago but it wasn’t staying around to have its photo taken Last year the Southern Hawker returned together with a number od Darters or Damselflies I’m not up on my insects & the builders were hard at work so I didn’t have time to look them up.

My office bay window has 9 areas of glass like that 2`4" x 3`9", 5 to the front & 2 either side so I'm far too easily distracted, Gill's brother in law was round yesterday for the first time since the alterations & said he would put his desk with its back to the window, thankfully not in Gill's hearing, but no way could I turn my back on everything happening outside, even though I have to
The pond won't get lined for a couple of years as money will have to go elsewhere so plants like Bog Bean, Water Avens, Water Cinquefoil, Marsh Marigold, Brooklime, & Water Cress have gone in for now & a couple of plants I recognise but don't know the names of have appeared. Roof water is channelled into it & though levels drop by around 1` it only drops very low if we have a few weeks of hot dry weather.
OK I should be this is my 3rd post so I’m

Nice to see an update Dave. Looks fab.

Thanks Ret, although it could be a couple of years before we can afford to line it, the £500 or so being needed else where, I'll post some updates when the plants start to come out, as long as the rabbits don't take to
They're eating everything else in sight & digging 1m long holes at the front door if the untidy wire wasn't along the blackthorn hedge beside the pond the rabbits would have eaten that. It's difficult to make it look tidy as I had to dig out rubble to plant the hedget & getting any form of post in is impossible.

Looking good Dave

Lots of aquatic creatures like fish-free ephemeral bodies of water including newts, frogs and toads. The fact that they dry up occasionally just adds to their appeal and the 'draw-down zone' is crucial for a number of invertebrates.

Those lovely mallards will make planting interesting though as they'll be very hard on plants. Juncus is a good choice and might even be rabbit-proof..

it looks great Dave,what a brilliant view you have from your office window

Thanks both, I'm biding my time seeing how the pond settles this year with roof water going in at present there is a lot of green algae this is probably due partial to impurities coming off the slates so I hope it settles down.
I was aware that fluctuating water levels on standing water with gently sloping sides was very good for birds such as Lapwing, Snipe, Curlew etc but had never thought about frogs, toads etc also finding it beneficial. There is one patch of frog spawn which with today's sunshine would will think have all hatched now, a couple of days ago there was a dark clump of tiny tadpoles in the middle & frog spawn still round the edges.
I don't want the pond as a regular dropping off point for ducks, I want nice clear water with lots of plant life, Diving Beetles, Hawkers, Dragonflies, Damselflies etc. so will case them when ever I see them.
I would like to get some Common Reed as well as Jointed Rush & Flowering Rush but as I say I'm watching how things settle down.
I'll keep you posted as the year goes on, I was amazed how many Diving Beetles there were last year.

This is fantastic!! How on earth do you get any work done?

Personally I wouldn't line it at all. Allow it to be a natural pond and if it dries up occasionally, so be it.
Did you get a chance to puddle the clay when you built it?

Incidentally, what you have done just digging a hole and leaving it to mature by itself is exactly what the "Million ponds" project recommends.
http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/milli...iontoolkit

Have you noticed any amphibians yet? Or frogspawn or toadspawn?
Have you been out at night with a torch to look?

A log pile and a rock pile will be a great addition to provide refuges and hibernation places for amphibians and reptiles

I have just found this thread and love it ,it's really interesting and i can't beleive how much hard work you've put into what seems like a very rewarding project,well done DaveExcellent

Thanks for the kind words I'll reply when I can, I shouldn't be here now as I've office work & over 1,500 acres to survey for ELS UELS & HLS grant schemes - Entry Level Stewardship, Uplands Entry Level Stewardship & Higher Level Stewardship, which include FEPs Farm Environmental Plans, where I assess each type of habitat on a farm & advise as to the best management for wildlife. Also 3 Raised Water Level Management Plans on the go & another 70 acres to take 25m x 30m grid level surveys on & then plot the levels. dig holes to check the soil type & then write up reports for creating habitat for Breeding Waders, principaly Snipe, Curlew & Lapwing though one may attract Red Shank. These include scrapes which will hold water for most of the year & ponds which will hold water all year round, depending on the water table, on one farm one of the scrapes could be a saline one & may attract Natterjack Toads which are close by.
OK I must grab a & get back to I've also got months of decorating to do having extended & renovated the house, a plan to plant around 30 extra trees will hopefully take place next winter if I can get the house finished.

Marsh Marigold

Unwelcome visitors

Who? ME? Marsh Marigold & Bog Bean in the background

You got it in One

Buzz off - “OK we know when we’re not wanted but we’re not afraid of you” ! - Pendulous Sedge in one bucket, not sure if it survived the winter if it has I want it to seed, other plants in the bucket I don't want hence I'm not planting this specimen. Ash tree in the other bucket waiting for me to find time to plant it out & protect it from rabbits.

Peace, now I can look for food in this nice damp soil round the Brooklime.
The Blackbirds & Robins love the damp areas round the pond & the Wood Pigeons come for a bath when it’s raining hard, not sure why they choose heavy rain to have a bath but it take all kinds *

OK she’s gone back inside; Now tadpoles or plants? -the clay is from where I dug a hole to plant
Gypseywort & Marsh Bedstraw, the Marsh Cinquefoil is beside the female duck but just showing the odd bud,
it flowers later in the year.

I’ll sift around the edges & see what I can find, the Bog Bean beside the drake is threatening
to get left high & dry, flower buds are just emerging.

A bit of Brooklime? - Flag Iris & Meadow Sweet above.

Something good down here.

From above showing how the pond level has dropped 15” over the last month. I've planted
a small patch of one of the water Crow Foot family just this side of the Marsh Marigold.
It will be below 15" of water when it rains hard so I may have to form some kind of floating platform
with sufficient soil in it to allow the Crow Foot to grow & spread

A nice patch of Water Starwort, she’s swimming towards wild Water Cress under the edge
& the margins are lined in Water Mint just emerging

I've just discovered some Juncus articulatus or Jointed Rush for Toad close to where I planted
the Gypseywort, I didn’t even know I’d collected it, unless it’s found its own way here,
or came in as seed on my boots, I’ve put a cane by it so I don’t lose it while it’s still small.
The one favour the ducks did was clear the pond of green algae

Looking good Dave - it's really coming on.

Not only did they eat the algae, they're also quite handy in the photos for orientation, kind of like air stewardesses doing a safety demo "brooklime is situated here, here and here" Such a shame they'd turn it into a muddy, lifeless hole in the ground..

I think the Juncus most follow one home, I've got it round my pond and it certainly put itself there. In terms of crowfoot, am I right in thinking that it's only the ivy-leaved that doesn't have a submerse form? I would expect any of the other species to merely change growth form as the water level rises.

great photos Dave,enjoyed you explaining all the different plants,cant believe how much the water level has dropped,is that down to not much rain

The ducks haven't returned though they are now a bone of contention between Gill & I as she thinks they are cute & I was in trouble for chasing them. I thought all the wildlife had gone but today's sunshine proved me wrong. First an opportunist, then the exciting bits, well I think so

Nice soft clay for my nest

How much can I carry?

Or should that be how much can I get in without choking



I thought my tadpoles had all been eaten but a hundred or so were sheltering under the Water Starwort