Building a pond for wildlife observation - Tips and ideas?

Nature Talk
27

Hello, great idea! My suggestions based on my experience:

  1. A pumping system is definitely not needed. If the pond vegetation is planned properly, plants will take care of water quality. You need to have the right balance of the 3 types of pond plants: submerged, floating and “tall” plants. You need to pick the right ones for your area and your pond size.
  2. Definitely no space for the tree, but not even a shrub.
  3. Make sure the pond is at least 60 cm deep in its deepest part and that it has at least a sloping side to facilitate entry and exit for the amphibians
  4. Wildlife will (incredibly) find your pond and be aware that part of the fun of pond life will come from insects (backswimmers, skaters, diving beetles, dragonflies and all those insects that have part of their life cycle in the water)
  5. To maximize biodiversity do not add fish to your pond or, especially in such a small pond, they will eat everything
  6. Lavander and rosmarine won’t do anything to mosquitoes I am afraid, but they are good to feed the other insects! A working pond itself is the best mosquito trap you can have. Mosquitoes will lay eggs in the pond but pond wildlife, especially insect larvae will eat all mosquito larvae before they reach adulthood (fish not needed).
  7. Put a lot of dead wood around the pond to provide refuges for amphibians (most of them spend only a very short part of their life in the water and the rest hiding under wood and stones)
  8. Yes in summer water will evaporate much faster than in winter. Also I am not sure how much water will infiltrate once the plants start putting roots into the ground. You will have to keep it monitored and then pick the best trade-off between water usage and rubber lining. Rubber lining will not prevent you from having all sorts of plants (in pots) and wildlife but yes there is an issue with it being made of rubber.
  9. You might wish to look for an NGO in your area working on wildlife ponds that can help you building a balanced pond and make sure the bottom doesn’t leak
  10. Enjoy, it is going to be fun and interesting! :)