Gill's Diary - 1 garden pond, 2 wildlife ponds

Garden pond, butyl-lined, approx 9 x 8 ft, max depth 24" average 18".  Pond re-lined Feb 2005, cleaned out and all-in-one Hozelock UV filter and pump added May 2006.  4 rudd, 4 goldfish added in May, since when 1 goldie died of dropsy Sept 2006, 1 has huge bulge over one eye but is still with us - LOADS of frogs, about a dozen or so newts, dragonflies and the occasional  bash heron.

At the field where we grow willows - 2 clay-based wildlife ponds:  top one (roughly 12 x 12 x 2'6" deep ) spring fed;  lower one takes the overflow via a flexible pipe - it's approx 18' x 12' x 2' 6" now, but husband is still digging - we want to increase the depth to 3 feet or more encourage toads etc but it depends on how far his waders protect him!

Both field ponds were half this size until he started enlarging them in September - November 2006 (ongoing!) by standing in them and digging out clay.  No point in trying to drain them first as the spring works faster than he can  >

Only occupants so far, water-boatmen, newts, dragon-flies - and on one occasion, a grass-snake swimming, only seen once since, dragging a screaming frog into the long grass  :-\

We saw dragonflies as late as 19/11/06 and today, rolled a massive clod of clay away from the bank and thought found what I thought was a fossilised newt - picked it up, it wriggled, chucked it in the water and it swam merrily off - it must have been stuck under that clay boulder for weeks - one of Nature's Big Survivors!

Our excavations must have disturbed a lot of wildlife, so we'll keep a diary on here of what happens when it all settles down. 

The ponds are at the very top of big sloping field, full sun all day, the field slopes to the south-east with mixed woodland on the other side of the valley - and to the south, where we can see the South Downs about 20 miles away. 

Surrounded by dairy pasture edged with mixed woodland - and our plantation of willows within yards.  Be interesting to see what arrives - earlier this year husband saw a kingfisher on the deer-fencing having a look.

Here's a photo as it is now (November 2006) - makes it look as the top pond is larger than the lower one - I'll take one from below next time.  Probably nothing much exciting will happen until Spring, but will keep this updated with anything that does.