Comments on: Of all the wildlife habitats… http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk "If only I had found this website last year when I started my pond!” Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:56:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Jeremy Biggs http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk/of-all-the-wildlife-habitats/#comment-233 Jeremy Biggs Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:54:27 +0000 http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk/?page_id=1498#comment-233 Hi Matthew - the macaroni size blob of jelly with eggs might be from a non-biting midge - a chironomid (ki-ron-o-mid). I don;t think there's a web site with pictures - but I'd didn't look for long. The other possibility is snails but since you haven't added anything its unlikely that snails wouldl be there yet (they took over a year in my pond, which I thought was amazingly fast given they can't fly and there's nowhere within at least 250 m they could have come from - and now I've got two kinds: whirlpool ram's-horn and dwarf snail. It maybe no accident that these are two smaller species that could be carried on a birds foot. The wicking is a good idea - if the weather really doesn't do it. It's just that since spring 2007 its been so wet all the time that the pond just hasn't gone down. I'm sure if we had some 'normal' summer weather it would! Hi Matthew – the macaroni size blob of jelly with eggs might be from a non-biting midge – a chironomid (ki-ron-o-mid). I don;t think there’s a web site with pictures – but I’d didn’t look for long.

The other possibility is snails but since you haven’t added anything its unlikely that snails wouldl be there yet (they took over a year in my pond, which I thought was amazingly fast given they can’t fly and there’s nowhere within at least 250 m they could have come from – and now I’ve got two kinds: whirlpool ram’s-horn and dwarf snail. It maybe no accident that these are two smaller species that could be carried on a birds foot.

The wicking is a good idea – if the weather really doesn’t do it. It’s just that since spring 2007 its been so wet all the time that the pond just hasn’t gone down. I’m sure if we had some ‘normal’ summer weather it would!

]]> By: Matthew Thompson http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk/of-all-the-wildlife-habitats/#comment-228 Matthew Thompson Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:20:01 +0000 http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk/?page_id=1498#comment-228 Thank you for your very interesting and humorous blog. I am also finding it very motivating. I heard about Pond Conservation on Radio 4 and then found the blog which has contradicted other advice I heard about pond making, e.g. 'depth 40-70 cm' and 'add sieved soil'. I didn't read about depth in time, but did manage to make some alterations to the profile to get some shallow areas. I did read about keeping the water clean in time, so have tried to keep soil out. I'm trying to resisit putting things in and after filling last w/e, today we had two pond skaters, an unidentified fly and a mosquito I think. Also what looks like insect eggs in a blob of jelly about the size and shape of a piece of macaroni. Where's a good place to try to identify them? I wanted to write to suggest you try some 'wicking' material on your pond edge to accelerate the fall in water levels as you had designed your pond with that in mind. Peter Sibley's 'starting a wildlife pond' was where I got my advice before finding your blog, and he mentioned that protective sheeting on top of pond liners can wick. Thank you for your very interesting and humorous blog. I am also finding it very motivating. I heard about Pond Conservation on Radio 4 and then found the blog which has contradicted other advice I heard about pond making, e.g. ‘depth 40-70 cm’ and ‘add sieved soil’. I didn’t read about depth in time, but did manage to make some alterations to the profile to get some shallow areas. I did read about keeping the water clean in time, so have tried to keep soil out. I’m trying to resisit putting things in and after filling last w/e, today we had two pond skaters, an unidentified fly and a mosquito I think. Also what looks like insect eggs in a blob of jelly about the size and shape of a piece of macaroni. Where’s a good place to try to identify them? I wanted to write to suggest you try some ‘wicking’ material on your pond edge to accelerate the fall in water levels as you had designed your pond with that in mind. Peter Sibley’s ‘starting a wildlife pond’ was where I got my advice before finding your blog, and he mentioned that protective sheeting on top of pond liners can wick.

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