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What Animals Live in or on a Pond

Wildlife in ponds

Water is one of the greatest gifts you tin can give to nature in your garden. It plays host to an assortment of amazing creatures and touches the lives of most of the wild fauna we arrive our outdoor spaces.

Invertebrates

Those familiar with pond dipping will know ponds are home to a huge diverseness of interesting invertebrates.

Invertebrates are animals without a backbone, and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some merely like very clean water, others are less fussy. Many consume algae and plants, but some are carnivorous and eat other small animals to survive.

Some of the more probable suspects that yous might run across in your ponds include:

Swimming-skaters
Water snails
Leeches and worms
Water beetles
Water boatmen
Freshwater mussels
Larvae (caddisfly, alderfly, dragonfly and damselfly to proper noun a few)

They're all an important part of the ecosystem and welcome inhabitants to our garden h2o features!

Dragonflies and damselflies

Dragonflies are cute creatures and it'southward always special to see them up close.

They've been around for hundreds of millions of years and a swimming is a bully mode to encourage these 'Jurassic visitors' to visit your present solar day garden!

In fact, your garden pond tin attract a whole host of astonishing flight invertebrates, including:

Dragonfly
Damselfly
Mayfly
Alderfly
Caddisfly

Nosotros may commencement come across these flight insects in egg or larvae form. They'll exist in our ponds as young larvae or nymphs, preying on the other insects, tadpoles and fish that live in that location. Eventually, climbing out of the h2o on tall plants, earlier emerging from their shells as their final winged selves!

Amphibians

Frogs and other amphibians are a familiar and much-loved company to our garden ponds.

The mutual frog especially, is a regular inhabitant of our garden water features and many of united states of america savour watching the cycle of their lives unfold, from spawn to tadpole, to fully grown frog.

Other amphibians that you might be lucky enough to detect in your pond include:

Mutual toad
Palmate newt
Shine newt
Great crested newt

Other amphibians which you're unlikely to find in your gardens are the pool frog and natterjack toad, both of which are much rarer and merely constitute in specific sites or types of habitat.

There are a number of things you tin can practise to help give amphibians the best home in your swimming.

Yous can make sure the water has lots of nice oxygenating plants.
Don't exist afraid of a little bit of algae. Tadpoles will love to eat information technology!
Make sure that you pond has a gradual slope, so that immature frogs and toadlets can easily hop out.
Providing platforms, either as part of the swimming itself, or with rocks, logs or even lillypads, can requite frogs and toads somewhere to savour and exhale to a higher place the water.
It's a good idea to accept areas of vegetation in and around the pond, and then that it tin be used as comprehend.
Be careful about having or introducing fish to the pond. Some species may eat tadpoles.
Stones and logs are also nifty to provide shelter.

Amphibians are very good at making a home even in new ponds – and so don't worry most transferring in spawn unless it'southward admittedly necessary. Every bit they can alive for quite a long time, they tin can sometimes beget to miss a breeding season, and then don't be also concerned almost the absence of spawn some years.

Information technology's a proficient idea not to motion amphibians in general. Some, specially in southern England, tin suffer from a condition called red-leg and moving them can spread the affliction.

If you are lucky enough to come up across keen crested newts or natterjack toads, please be aware that it'due south illegal to move these at all without a license.

Common frog Rana temporaria, resting on log, West Midlands

Birds and ponds

Many of the small birds which visit our gardens volition also apply pocket-sized ponds to drink and bathe. If yous have a specially large pond, you might even run across wetland birds or waterfowl.

It's important to brand sure ponds are prophylactic for the birds which stop by. By introducing depression-hanging branches, shallow platforms, sloping sides and logs or platforms in the centre of a pond we can give modest birds a safety identify to bath and drink.

Planting and general upkeep can assist to brand sure at that place are lots of appetising insects for whatsoever insect-eating birds.

One bird which might be less welcome at some ponds, is the heron. Some people wish to deter curious herons from their ponds. A bulwark of ii wires, one 35 cm loftier, the other 20 cm loftier, placed above and around the border, or a vertical edge to the pond with a drop of at least 35 cm to the water can help to put them off, if you have fish you don't desire to lose!