Natural pond

[Dogghound]

Yes I would have a walk around and maybe remove some trees like the willow, I would also encourage a strip of 3-5 meters from the bank of wild vegetation, surrounding the pond. This buffer strip will provide vital habitat for amphibians and invertebrates and you pond will benifit from it. Perhaps see whats growing in the pond in the summer if its quite poor then sometimes introducing some native non-invasive pond plants can kick start it a bit.

Also if you are removing tree's and bushes try and do it outside of the bird nesting season (Late Feb-late Sept). Unless you are certain that no nests exist in or around the tree.

[nightshade]

The local Bat group may have some useful info. to share. Ponds usually have a good head of Bats, Pipistrelle, Daubentons and a few more besides.
Swifts and Swallows as well no doubt, with Stoats in the willow?

[Adam Cheeseman]

I would suggest encouraging a meadow type habitat (cut once a year in autumn) around part of the pond as this will encourage a greater range of wildlife that uses the pond too, such as dragonflies, damselflies, amphibians and so forth.

Cheers,

Adam

[Malcolm Banks]

Wow that's some pond Suffolk, I'm jealous with only the tiny reservation that I shouldn't like to have to sweep the snow off your pond. Do you get waves on the shore?
Anyway it seems you are getting loads of good advice and looks like you have the space to develop all of the suggested habitats and improvements, in particular to spend some time taking stock of what you have in and around the pond (could take a while with this weather!) Good luck
M

[Cowgirl]

Oh I am soooo jealous suffolk, I would be very excited at the prospect of owning such a pond. Lots of good ideas from others, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun sorting everything out. What a wonderful project.

As for your overpopulations of visiting mallards, well I know a few good recipes

Good luck

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by suffolk

Hi everyone!

I am buying a property that has a very large natural pond in the garden. The pond has been there for a very long time.

I've never had a pond before so I was wondering what is likely to be living in the pond. Perhaps someone can help me with this?

I've seen small ducks like coots? on the pond so far.

Also it is full of duckweed. How do I get rid of this?

Should I introduce a pump and fountain to keep the water moving?

I would like to build a deck over one third of it from bank to bank. Would this impact on the wildlife at all?

Thanks very much to anyone that answers!!

Hi Suffolk,
I think you are acquiring a very valuable piece of wildlife potential, and while I can understand why you want to incoprporate some contemporary features, I would urge you to take the cautionary approach that Nightshade has suggested. Certainly before undertaking any major changes I'd suggest establishing the pond's history, this may give you some indication how it has developed over time. From the photos it certainly looks to have some age, probably a flooded clay pit, adapted for later landscaped value. You'll be able to tack down the histroy via the Suffolk (I assume you are in Suffolk) Records Office Welcome to the Suffolk Record Office The tithe map of around 1840 will show any pond existing at that time, and the earliest OS Maps 1885 (?) and 1900 (?) will be worth looking at to see if there have been changes - adjacent buildings etc. There may also be estate maps and or manorial maps that go back before the tithe survey.

I'd also suggest contacting the Suffolk Wildlife Trust http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/and the Suffolk County ecologists Ecology Services to see whether there is any existing data held about your pond.

In summary my advice is don't be in a hurry to make changes, you may be looking at feature that's 500 years or more old. The one thing I would look out for is pollution run off from local roads or agriculture, both of which can have a devastating effect and timely intervention can be 'life' saving.

CM

[suffolk]

Thanks very much for all this info Cotham Marble.

I have contacted a pond conservationist/manager to come and look when it has defrosted.

I would be very interested to learn about the history of the pond so will follow that up as well.

Thanks everyone for all your help so far.

[suffolk]

Following on from this thread as you can see I am winning my war against the dreaded duckweed!

Unfortunately my pond has turned a lovely shade of green. Is this something I should be worrying about?

As I am a novice pond owner, what should I be looking out for on my pond (frog spawn etc) over the coming weeks or months? Many thanks!

[Tursiops2]

Hi suffolk

I've only been back online since mid Jan, so I've missed this thread until now.

Originally Posted by suffolk

Unfortunately my pond has turned a lovely shade of green. Is this something I should be worrying about?

You appear to have Blanketweed. This is a filamentous algae that forms large mats just below the surface of the water. It's a sign of a high level of nutrients in the pond. It's presence is probably a result of the "sixty Mallards" that you say were previously kept on the pond - their waste will have added a heavy load of nutrients to the water, which has been added to by leaves falling from the trees.

It's not desirable, as it depletes the water of oxygen. You should do your best to remove as much as possible - a thankless task, as it will rapidly regenerate, but eventually all the nutrients in the pond will be used up, and it will reach a manageable level.

That pond is potentially an invaluable wildlife resource, but it's clearly been very poorly managed in the past, and rehabilitating it is going to be a challenging, but very worthwhile, and very interesting, project. Did the pond conservationist ever visit? Did you get anywhere with the historical research?

What part of Suffolk are you in? If you're not too far from Felixstowe and accessible by bus (I don't drive), I'd be happy to visit and have a look at it for you. Drop me a PM if you're interested.

T2