Summer Pond Fauna {Homeschool Pond Study – Week 17}

Welcome back to Week 17 of our one-year homeschool pond study! If you’re just joining us, you can browse the full series on our main pond study page. To look back at our spring flower and fauna count, visit Week 4. This week, we shall be comparing week 4 with the summer pond fauna found this week.

Find out more! If you’d like to know more about why we decided to do a year long pond study, this is the post for you!

One of the most rewarding parts of this project has been charting the seasonal changes in our pond fauna. Not only which species appear, but how their behaviour and numbers shift over time. While our original intention was to give equal attention to plant and animal life, the pond’s wildlife has captured the children’s imaginations so completely that our focus has naturally shifted in that direction. And honestly? I couldn’t be happier with the depth of learning that’s happening because of it.

Read More! Last week we learnt all about the variety of pond birds in the UK

This week, we repeated our full midsummer wildlife count—clipboards in hand—recording both what we saw and what was conspicuously missing.

A New Wildlife Count: Summer Pond Fauna

Ducks First!

The children circled the pond with their notebooks, eagerly identifying and tallying each bird and creature they spotted. As usual, we began with the ducks.

Click here to read about the animals and plants we have found around our pond

Mallards Looking Worse for Wear

The first thing we noticed was how ruffled and scruffy the mallards looked. Feathers were scattered all around the pond edge, prompting a lively discussion among the children. We concluded they may be molting, although this timing seemed odd—mallards typically molt in early spring or late summer. Perhaps the recent increase in temperature confused their internal seasonal cues?

Read more!  You can find our study of pond fauna here

We counted 17 mallards, down from 24 in March. T11 proposed that the absence of nesting mallards on our small pond might mean the breeding birds had flown to a larger body of water—an entirely reasonable theory. We’ll be watching to see if the population rises again in autumn.

Read about our very own pond ecosystem as well as our examination of the pond water

Moorhens and Chicks

While mallards don’t nest here, our little pond clearly suits Moorhens well. The pair we spotted in spring now has three lively chicks, which was such a joy for the children to see.

Pond pollution is one thing that would affect the number and variety of plants and trees in our UK pond. Read about it here and see what we found.

A Regular Visitor: The Heron

Our elegant heron made another solo appearance. We didn’t see him at all during our March count; he first arrived in May and has been visiting regularly ever since. As usual, he stood silently and alone at his preferred feeding spot.

Read More! I thought I’d direct you to our Ash Tree Study which we began right at the start of our pond study and its extension Ash Tree and Lichen

Wildlife That Was Missing This Week

Not every familiar species appeared during this week’s pond fauna count:

• The Mandarin Duck, last seen in Week 10, has not returned. We suspect he may have relocated to a larger nesting area.
• Our pair of Canada Geese, last spotted in early June, were also absent this week. They were present during spring, so midsummer nesting seems likely.

Fancy doing some pond art? Read here for our bark rubbings and leave hammering

A Surprise Addition: A Second Terrapin!

The most unexpected discovery was the appearance of another terrapin—a smaller, younger one we had never seen before. Our long-time visitor is a Red-eared Slider, and at first this new terrapin appeared different. But after zooming into photos and comparing with earlier images, we concluded this newcomer is also a young Red-eared Slider, with red markings still developing.

Later, we saw both terrapins swimming together, which sparked a whole new set of questions. If there are two, how many others might be hiding beneath the surface?

Summer Pond Fauna – Insects: A Big Contrast From Spring

Unlike our spring count, when insect life was almost nonexistent, the pond is now buzzing with activity. We photographed:

• A pair of delicate damselflies (thank you Hwee for the correction!)
• Another unidentified insect—possibly a dragonfly or mayfly—hovering around the reeds

This seasonal contrast has made the children even more aware of how dramatically different pond life can be from month to month.

Reflections on Summer Pond Fauna

Comparing our spring and summer findings has helped the children understand how alive and dynamic a pond ecosystem truly is. New creatures appear, others disappear, and some—like the terrapins—surprise us entirely.

Next week we’ll be shifting our attention slightly and beginning our Summer Tree Study as part of our ongoing homeschool nature exploration.

If you’re following along with your own homeschool pond study, I’d love to hear what your family has been discovering too.