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Pond Training Day


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Rod (centre) shows us what he's scooped from the pond

On Saturday 27th June 2009 we had a pond training day taught by Rod d'Ayala, an Independent Ecological Consultant, at the Lye Valley Nature Reserve in Oxford. We have another pond training day planned for Saturday 1st August at a different location in Tackley Heath.

Anthony Roberts of Oxford City Council Countryside Service guided us to a row of about six ponds near the bottom of the valley. There is a well-used path between the row of ponds - which are almost if not quite linked - and the stream at the bottom of the valley. We could hardly see the pond that we were going to concentrate our physical efforts on, as it was covered in and surrounded by common reed. Some of the Lye Valley Nature Reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The row of ponds are just outside the SSSI and may be considered as part of a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (S(L)INC).

Rod has been working in nature conservation in Oxfordshire since 2006, initially as a volunteer but then as staff for a variety of local organisations. He worked for many years for BBOWT managing a series of sites in the South Chilterns before spells with other local conservation organisations and commercial consultancy. Rod is now an Independent Ecological Consultant and a Pond Adviser for Pond Conservation, and co-ordinator of the Oxfordshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. He is interested in all terrestrial and wetland habitats. He is also a recorder for reptiles and amphibians for Oxfordshire and is interested in receiving any records for these groups from Oxfordshire and surrounding counties. (Contact Rod on dayala@waitrose.com).

Rod kindly provided very informative handouts on pond habitats (pdf) and pond creation (pdf) for the training day which you can download.


Hard at work digging out the pond

After the initial talk we split into various groups so that some of us could make a start on digging out the pond, and others could survey some of the other ponds with Rod. Some people started slashing and piling the reed from the end pond, whilst Rod brought his nets and took the other group a few metres away to where there was a little open water which he suggested might be being kept open by dogs! An early catch was, intentionally, a crisp bag which was inspected for eggs stuck to it but none were found. Rod said that for survey purposes people sometimes put sticks with shredded plastic fixed to them in ponds as sites for animals to lay eggs. Some of what was caught was put in shallow white trays and Rod helped with identification and made lists. Catches included caddisfly larvae of various species, a dragonfly nymph, a tadpole, stickleback fish and several smaller species of invertebrates.

Part way through the day someone approached us waving a butterfly net. It was Judy Webb. She had a soldier fly called a Banded General (Stratiomys potamida) that she was keen to show us. It looked like a wasp, although it does not sting.


The finished pond with varied depths and edges

There was discussion about the value of nature conservation concentrating on rare species. Rod seemed keen on species diversity, and he stressed the limited conservation value of large areas of open water in ponds. Rod suggested that, from an ecological point of view, there may sometimes be a tendency to do too much active management (i.e. digging-out) of village ponds. Wildlife associated with ponds can often tolerate some drying of ponds. From his notes: 'The most abundant form of animal life in a pond is invertebrates – and most invertebrates can live in as little as 10 cm of water'. Temporary ponds, and those that dry out occasionally, including those dominated by trees, may be relatively stable and of ecological value. Sometimes his advice to village councils may be to leave the pond alone. Rather than interfering in an existing pond, he might suggest digging another.

Towards the end of the day we concentrated on digging out the pond, ensuring that we had a variety of depths of water and a variety of indented edges (rather than smooth curved edges) to encourage more diverse habitats.

Tim Howard

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