Lockdown Pond

During lockdown, I fulfilled a long-standing ambition and built a pond.  I'd been promising myself that I would do this for years, but never got around to it. During April I bit the bullet and made a start.  

The result is a modest affair, 3m x 2m with a maximum depth of 0.4m in a very flat grassy garden bordered by fields.  

Lockdown Pond

I added water on 16th April and within a matter of hours, it had attracted three different species of water beetle.  Within this short space of time, there were around 50 tiny 2-3mm Helophorus, four medium-sized Hydroporinae and a couple of larger Dysticidae.  On the 19th a Pond-skater (Gerridae) visited briefly, but did not stay.  The Helophorus mass-attacked anything organic that fell into the water and the Helophorus could be heard hitting the plastic liner where they immediately started mating furiously.

Left Dytiscidae and a mass of voracious Helophorus demolishing a slug

Hydroporinae

The birds like it. All species seen in the garden have used the pond to drink or bathe with a blackbird seen gathering damp mud to line her nest and once a couple of swallows skimmed low but did not stop to drink.  Birds seem to gather near it, frequently settling comfortably in the grass.

I wanted the pond to colonise naturally, which it is doing for the fauna, but I admit to helping the flora.  I have replanted a couple of  Common Rush Juncus effusus and Water mint Mentha aquatica at the bog end of the pond and acquired three Common Spike Rush Eleocharis palustris plants which I planted in the shallow water's edge, and I've also added a small piece of Common Water Moss Fontinalis antipyretica.

The last couple of weeks have been challenging through lack of rainfall.  I could almost watch the water level falling as the contents of the pond evaporated.  Last week, I emptied the last 75 litres out of my water butt but still the level continued to fall.  I have joined the Wildlife Ponds UK  Facebook group 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2122154031407805/ and looked there for advice.  The recommended strategy was to use tap water but fill the pond through a spray nozzle to help remove the Chlorine from the tap water.

This morning (28th May) I sprayed the pond and raised the level by a couple of inches, a much more acceptable depth.  Once done, I contemplated my satisfyingly deeper pond and spotted another new arrival.

Lesser Diving Beetle - Acilius sulcatus

This was a much larger and very busy water beetle.  It was about the size of a thumb-nail with yellow horizontal markings across its head and broad grey stripes along the elytra - a Lessser Diving beetle, Acilius sulcatus!

As if this was not enough, an hour or so later, two female Broad-bodied Chasers Libellula depressa had found the pond and were ovipositing in it.

Broad-bodied Chaser - Libellula depressa

Never mind the South West Water bill, I'll have to keep topping up the water level to ensure the survival of their nymphs.