What a wealth of wildlife lurks in and around the pond? Such a variation, flying insects, molluscs, animals and fish. I spend hours just gazing in, fascinated by the activity of all the creatures.

A young frog at the pond edge, another peers out from amongst the water iris leaves.

 A fully grown frog.                        The common toad, notice shorter front legs than a frog.

                        This frog kindly hopped on the lawn for me. What a poser!

The pond abounds with water skaters, and they seems to multiply profusely. Skating across the pond in their jerky movements.

They also eat the pellets put in for the fish, three or four surrounding one pellet.

One of the most stunning creatures to visit the pond is the damsel fly, such a vibrant colour.

                                          (Click on picture below to enlarge)

While clearing out the over grown weed in my pond I came upon this creature. It is a dragonfly nymph, and swam rapidly to the bottom of the pond when I returned it. They only come up to the surface of the pond to hunt for small insects but survive mainly at the bottom, living in the pond for about four years, before shedding it's skin and emerging as an adult dragonfly They then only survive for about two months, long enough to find a mate and lay eggs for the cycle to begin again.

                                                                                                       The empty lava case of a Dragon Fly.

     The dragon fly is very similar to the damsel fly but much larger and heavier in body. They appear in July and August.

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                                                                          Sunshine on the wings. (Click to enlarge and see greater detail).

A brilliant orange one here (Click to enlarge)                                             (Click to enlarge) 

The most fascinating creature in the pond is the newt. The male newt has a brightly spotted underbelly, while the female newt is brown all over. Baby newts are in the pond, just over one and a half inches in length. They were lucky to escape being a meal for the fish!

(Click to enlarge)

Of course we must not forget the pond snail. Not a very attractive creature. Mind you, in saying this, one is a very bright red and shows up amongst the weed, adding colour to the pond. 

No pond would be complete without the goldfish. Not a true wildlife, as they are added to the pond, but they do bring colour and interest. In some years their young have survived. When first born they are black and turn gold as they become more mature.

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