Welcome to week 35 of our one year pond study. Here is our Pond this week:
Yes, that is what appears to be a huge great digger right in the middle of our pond! Here it is from another angle:
Do you remember the wooden fence they built last week, cordoning off part of the pond? If not here is a reminder:
This has now been completely filled in with mud, we think dug from the bottom of the pond:
And here are the girls looking over into it:
This will have the effect of making the pond even smaller than it already is. Although we have walked past and seen the occasional mallard and the two of the Moorhens, today there was nothing there apart from the odd sea gull:
Although, if you looked hard enough there was some evidence of life right in the mud:
Maybe a water scorpion or a great diving beetle?
It is sad that so many of our friends have upped and left the pond, but it is interesting to watch the process of conservation happening on our doorstep, and the odd wildlife treat it is unearthing (literally).
Of course for me, the most beautiful creatures at the pond were…..
Ahh, what a beautiful picture of the three girls. I’m so impressed you’re finding learning opportunities even while the digger does its stuff. My first thought about the mystery creature was that it looks like a plant rhizome (which look like aliens to us) but looking at those bugs you’ve linked to, you’re probably right. Must get back to our pond (ahem).
It was definitely animal rather than plant on account of its movement!
What are they doing to ‘my’ Pond….?
I don’t know. They’ve left now, but the pond is in a terrible state. Hopefully they’ll be back to finish the job.
Do you think they’re creating a new environment for creatures who live in mud?
LOL! Maybe, you never can tell with these council official people!
I do wonder what they are doing. I am glad you were able to find signs of life even in the midst of change.
Blessings, Dawn
We really enjoy our bird life, so it’s kind of sad that they have all left.
Beautiful girls! I love all the footprints you spotted, too.
Strange, what they’re doing to the pond. You’d think they’d want to expand such a beautiful spot if anything. I wonder what they have in mind?
I agree. It’s already too small for the mallards to breed, although we have had Moorhen chicks (gone now though). I don’t really understand what they are doing or see how it can possibly improve the pond.
How interesting! Even among all the seemly destruction of the pond, there are great finds! I am curious to see what happens.
The picture of your girls is beautiful. Amongst the ashes there is beauty.
Have a lovely day, Claire.
That’s a nice way of looking at it! I miss my birds!
It looks like you have discovered a “Crayfish” or a Crawdad or mudbug as we say back home! Like a mini Lobster or a shrimp but, freshwater. We catch them at our pond and let them go when we are done looking at them- They eat tons of the little guys over here in the South mostly-Have fun with the pond conservation study!
You may be right! Yuck to the eating of them though!!
I was thinking crawdad too (crawfish): http://adventuresinmommydom.org/science-sunday-crawdads/
As soon as everyone told me about crayfish, I thought about your post. You’re all probably right, it’s just we don’t see things like that here very often (read never)
I don’t know what it would be called there but here in the American south, we call it a crawfish or crayfish. They live in the mud and here some people boil them and eat them. They are kinda like little muddy lobsters 🙂
Do you know what they are doing to the pond?
Why would anyone want to eat a muddy lobster?! I think you’re right though about them being crayfish. Tonyia thought the same.
What a lovely picture of the girls! As for the conservation work, all I can think of is Oh My!
They’ve finished now and the pond is just empty of all life bar seagulls. It’s kind of sad really.