how to create a wildlife pond

Not all gardens are suitable for a pond. But if you build one (or have already), they can support all kinds of native wildlife including dragonflies, grass snakes, frogs, toads and newts.

Make your garden safe for petsEnsure ponds have sloping sides for wildlife to easily enter/exit. Netting can trap wildlife and birds (especially with larger holes). Read more on planting wildlife-friendly gardens.

Ponds are not simple to build or maintain, so do your homework. You’ll need to ensure the pond has shady and sunny areas, and ensure adjacent habitats and make sure you regularly remove algae and too many leaves. Plus you’ll need (safe) drinking areas for visiting wildlife (bees drown easily) and dense shrubs to protect birds say from sparrowhawks and sunny areas for basking grass snakes.

Ponds often have fish, but too many will encourage algae and weeds (if there are too many, see if someone else can safely take some, ensuring the water temperature remains constant in transport and adaption to avoid shock of changes before settled in). A solar pump helps to clear the water, and ensure you have some kind of wildlife protection system to stop tadpoles and other creatures being sucked into the pump. When topping up water, rainwater is better than tap water, and you’ll also have to remove sediment in early autumn (only half at a time, to avoid losing creatures living in the mud).

How to Create a Wildlife Pond is a beautifully illustrated and photographed guide to plan, create and maintain your pond, whether natural, container or formal. You’ll learn which creatures will visit and when, and plants that help ponds thrive. Plus how to encourage a natural eco-system and maintain your pond.

Building Natural Ponds is an American book for those who get scared of the complicated mess of pipes, pumps, filters and chemicals to adjust PH and keep algae out. This book will show you how to build a simple pond for dragonflies, frogs and songbirds, using how-to drawings and photos. Understand pond ecosystems and natural algae control. Plus tips on scaling up to large ponds, pools, bogs and rain gardens. Robert is a master gardener with 50 years experience.

how to humanely deter herons from ponds

heron Caroline Smith

Caroline Smith

Herons are often an issue near ponds, but dummy herons rarely work (herons hunt together, so will think they’ve found a mate) and heron plastic disks could harm other creatures like hedgehogs, whose spines could get caught). It’s sad to say. But herons do kill fish and ducks. And if you have a pond, it’s likely that herons will try to find them. You may have to accept its nature. The only two solutions that may help are tall plants at the edge (to obscure the view of tasty fish) and a solar fountain to agitate the water, so herons are less likely to see them.

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