 |
I have five ponds in my garden. Big garden? No, little ponds. The biggest is about 6ft by 4ft, the smallest barely a foot square and the rest in-between.
Counterfeit Menagerie
I confess that my ponds also feature at least one fishing gnome, a pair of plastic Kingfishers, several artificial ducks and the inevitable life-size Heron. Less damp parts of the garden provide perches for at least three owls, four pigeons, a stork, three small deer, families of foxes, badgers, a couple of dormice and a pig! None of them are real, though they are all pretty realistic. I wouldn’t blame you if you concluded that this counterfeit menagerie - especially the owls and the Heron - was intended to deter all forms of wildlife. Not so.
I have always contended that birds aren’t fooled for one minute by the fake predators that people put out to scare them away. As if to prove my point, my local Robin’s perch is on top of the head of a totally life-like Eagle Owl (which is now so covered in bird droppings that I shall soon have to re-identify it as a Snowy Owl). And as for the fake Heron….of course, they are usually stationed by garden ponds to keep out the real thing. The theory being that a wild Heron is meant to think “Oh, that bird’s got there first, so I won’t compete with it’. Err…but Heron’s are sociable creatures. They nest in big colonies, and they often feed in small groups where food is plentiful. So, if a Heron sees another one lurking at the water’s edge, isn’t it more likely to think, “Aha, there must be lots of fish in there. You don’t mind sharing do you mate?” And when the plastic rival doesn’t even respond – let alone ‘compete’ – the wild one surely can’t believe its luck! Added to which….hunters put out decoy pigeons and ducks to attract wild birds, not to frighten them away.
As it happens, I have not one but two model Herons by my ponds. Mind you, I have yet to see a real Heron exploring my garden. But the reason for that is that my house is surrounded by buildings and tall trees, my ponds are very tiny and there aren’t any fish in them anyway. Birds aren’t daft you know.
The Most Effective Garden Feature is . . .
So are my little lakes purely decorative? ‘Water features’ no less, and no more? Not at all. They are little havens for wildlife, as is any garden pond. It is almost a cliché to say that if anyone asks me what is the most effective feature you can add to a garden to attract wildlife, I – and everyone from Titchmarsh to Attenborough – will reply: build a pond.
First of all, let me say that garden ponds are very important. Common frogs literally depend on them for the survival of the species. There are also homes for toads and newts. Beneath the water, there will be a wonderfully weird variety of mini beasts: pond snails, diving beetles and all manner of nymphs and larvae. The water surface provides a rink for pond skaters and the margins attract dragon and damselflies. Not to mention drinking and bathing facilities for birds and animals. What’s more, you don’t have to ‘introduce’ any of this pond life. It will simply arrive of its own accord.
There is a lovely movie called ‘Field of Dreams’, in which Kevin Costner is exhorted to build a baseball park by the ghosts of great pitchers and catchers of a bygone age. A voice continually whispers in his head: Build it, and they will come’. He does and they do. I can’t think of a better line of encouragement for anyone thinking of putting in a pond.
‘Build it, and they will come’. Do, and they will. And that’s no dream.
Bill Oddie
|
