|
|
Enjoying
As
well as being beneficial to wildlife, ponds can be fantastic
places to spend time, relax and de-stress.
We'd love to hear how you get on making your wildlife pond. Send
us your photos of the work in progress, the finished thing and
anything interesting animals you spot in it! You can also pin
your location on our pond plotter and see who else out there is
just adding water.
Watch up-close or from a window, even for five minutes a day, to
keep up to date with the latest visitors. How long before you
see your first frog in the pond? When do the tadpoles start to
grow legs? Why not keep a wildlife notebook and to compare how
things chance, month to month and even year to year.
Bird-hides are a really effective way of seeing birds up close.
Why not add one near your pond? This is particularly effective
if there is a bird-feeder hanging nearby. Patience is the key
thing!
Count all the frogs, toads and newts you see each year in your
garden, and their goings-on. Submit your sightings to Froglife
and your information could have national significance for
amphibians in the future.
You can buy nets or pond-dip packs from many online shops or you
can make your own using wire, a bamboo cane and netting.
Carefully collect water in a plastic kitchen container (white is
best). Put the net into the water and sweep it slowly backwards
and forwards. Gently empty the contents into the container full
of water and see what you have caught. Make sure you carefully
return the animals to the pond soon afterwards. Classify the
creatures you find using a wildlife book or a Field Studies
Guide (available from our shop). Classic pond invertebrates to
look out for include water boatmen, pond skaters, dragonfly
nymphs and caddisfly larvae.
Ponds change dramatically with the seasons, with new life
turning up throughout. Consider keeping a diary of this
transition. You could make a scrapbook complete with photos - a
great school project - or even make your own pond blog to
inspire others.
Identifying amphibians.
Frogwatch.
Froglife shop.
|