RSPB: Any pond can benefit wildlife

Almost any water feature is beneficial to wildlife, the RSPB claims.

A well-maintained pond in a structured garden, featuring dead wood, rocks and borders can support reptiles and amphibians, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) states.

Almost every water feature can promote wildlife, such as birds that will use it for drinking, the organisation claims.

Small logs or low branches next to the pond can give birds something to safely land on and attract them to a garden, it advises.

Ponds that dry out can be most beneficial for frogs and toads, as they do not sustain fish, which can eat tadpoles.

However, the RSPB notes that smaller fish - such as minnows and sticklebacks - "provide interest, without eating too many" of them.

It recommends placing dense vegetation next to the pond, to give amphibians a "corridor of cover".

Furthermore, plastic pond meshing secured below the water and extending out of the side of the pond can benefit hedgehogs, but is unlikely to be used by herons, the organisation says.

Posted by Sean Alexander
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Tuesday, 1 Nov 2011, 4:45pm