Pond Residents & Visitors.

I’ve got to tell you, the last episode of Gardener’s World we watched had Monty talking about his wildlife pond and how they had just moved it and that everyone ought to be patient when they put one in. Something about giving it a year for animals to move in.

Ha! I exclaimed at the television, Rich, and our pets. As my head began to inflate with pride- seeing as how I’m now the creator of an above average pond- I boasted to the room that we had toads and frogs in our pond 2 weeks after it was in the ground! Of course they all knew that already, but my ego wouldn’t be tamed!

I kid (sort of), but I thought it would be fun to share some of the photos the trail camera/camera trap has caught (I’ll share some I’ve taken the old fashioned way with an iPhone in a later post). I don’t think we’ll ever stop being excited about what we see and find down there, or being in awe of the things that just show up, as if out of the blue.

Catbird and a mating pair of Eastern Bluebirds

A rather vigorous bath for this Blue Jay

A Cedar Waxwing, a longtime wishlist bird!

A Connecticut Warbler, passing through on its way to Canada for the summer.

The crows have been endlessly entertaining, watching them pick up rocks to drop in the deeper water to hunt tadpoles is my favorite!

Its a Murder!

This one caught a water beetle, not an easy task as they are quick and nimble in the water.

An Eastern Towhee, such a cute bird!

The most beautiful male Indigo Bunting

I couldn’t resist our state bird, the stalwart Robin

The Scarlet Tanager is elusive, but so striking and hard to miss.

The camera even managed to capture a butterfly!

Of course we have gotten more than just feathered visitors.

The deer have visited a number of times, though the camera position usually means we don’t get great shots of them.

This little guy!

The bunnies have some choice favorites in the pond, mainly the papyrus plant and the golden sedge, so we’ve had to move them out of shore’s each from these guys.

The bottom left corner is the reason the pond is now teeming with tadpoles…

I cannot recommend a wildlife pond enough if you have space. It doesn’t need to be huge or deep, nor does it need electricity, just a liner and some plants!