|
Click on the globe to return to my homepage |
|||
| OS sheet 88, Grid Ref: NZ 301 693 | This page last updated 13/05/09 |
|
|
||
Ponds a very basic introduction |
All photos taken April 2002 © Kay Williams. |
|
|
|
|
|
||
| The area's paths and bridleways are popular with dog walkers, cyclists and horse riders. It is within walking distance of Palmersville Metro station, an Asda hypermarket and local housing estates (eg Hadrian Park and Battle Hill). Work started in 2002 on a new housing estate opposite Palmersville station (builders - Bett). The area borders the North Tyne industrial estate and is wedged between the A191, the A19 and the A1058. The reserve is managed to protect birds, to diversify the habitat and, in conjunction with the Rising Sun park, encourage educational use. | ||
Wildlife Wintering and migrating birds are the main focus of the reserve. Waders include redshanks and greenshanks. Winter wildfowl include teal, lapwing and whooper swan. In summer breeding birds include grebe, tern, mute swan, coot and mallard. Reed bunting and yellow wagtail can be seen around the pond margins and the pond is a bathing site for gulls. Short-eared owls hunt over the marshy grassland. Rabbit, hare, fox and deer are found in the woodland and grassland. Smaller ponds and ditches provide habitats for frogs, newts and dragonflies. More on birds from birdforum and the RSPB. RSPB bird identifier (java) http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/index.asp |
||
| Reedbeds, particularly wet
freshwater reedbed, is a rare habitat in the UK and is
home to some of the UK's rarest birds. http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/managingreserves/habitats/reedbeds/index.asp Waterbirds at birdlife Threats to water birds http://www.wwt.org.uk/text/457/threats_to_waterbirds.html |
||
| Surrounding area There are areas of grazed grassland, plantation woodland and carr surrounding the pond. The oldest area of woodland is part of a reclamation scheme and contains Corsican pine, ash, alder, Swedish whitebeam and sycamore. Pictured is a newly area planted by the Forestry commission which will act as a buffer between the area immediately surrounding the pond and the housing estates along the Wallsend/Silverlink coast road (A1058). | ||
| The
Pond margin Plants
and trees surround the pond. There are stands of yellow
flag iris, greater reedmace, branched burreed and greater
spearwort. Although some areas are shaded by reeds and
overhanging branches, there is plenty of light. Plants,
shrubs and trees provide shelter and lots of food can be
found as there are many insects and small animals living
in the reeds and on (or just below) the waters
surface. The main predators are birds, mammals and larger
insects. The reed bed is the silent invader of ponds and lakes. The thick underground stems spread sideways through the mud and send up fresh shoots, pushing aside competitors. The strong stems trap old leaves and other plant material. Over several years previously open water becomes vegetated marsh. At the back of the bed, drier-ground plants move in, such as sedges and willow. (Process of ecological succession.) Reedbeds are an important and threatned bird habitat. |
||
| The pond
surface Above the
surface the air is full of oxygen produced
by plants and trees surrounding the pond. There is little
shelter above the pond and little food in this area, but
good amounts of light. Birds and insects have to hunt at
the surface, margin or dive in to the water to find food.
The few main predators include larger birds and
dragonflies that catch their smaller prey while flying
over the pond. The surface is completely open, so plenty
of light and the only shelter is among the surface plants
like water lilies. There is plenty of oxygen, which
dissolves in the water from the air above. Many small
animals live here and breathe through their gills, lungs
or skin. Predators include birds, fish, some mammals and
the larger insects.
|
||
| Mid-water
conditions Underwater
plants produce oxygen and creatures here breathe through
their gills or skin. Food is more difficult to find and
most hunt at the surface, margin or scavenge the bottom.
Some light reaches this habitat through the water, but
the further down the darker it gets! There is less
shelter, unless lots of floating plants are growing.
|
Pond bottom Plants find it hard to grow at greater depth, because of the lack of light and reduced oxygen levels. As the dead rot and decompose on the bottom they use up oxygen, further reducing it. There is shelter on the bottom in decaying plant matter, stones, mud and sometimes rubbish. Fish and insects that can dive down for food, lurk in the mud waiting to pounce. Food in the mud and debris includes dead or decaying plant or animal material (detritus). |
|
| Algae
The producer
plant of a pond ecosystem. Some are easily seen and form
floating mats on the surface, but others are microscopic.
These microscopic algae provide abundant food for
microscopic animals, which are in turn food for larger
creatures such as water beetles and insect larvae. These
are eaten by fish, which are then hunted by predatory
birds. Pond snails graze algae and in turn get eaten by
fish, newts and birds.
|
||
| Visitor management The area surrounding Swallow Pond is criss-crossed by bridleways and paths, all of which seem well used and well signed. Paths are graded and normally the visitor centre can provide information. However, direct access to the pond itself is limited to the north-western end. Visitors are encouraged to use two concrete hides to watch the birds from and discouraged from actual access to the pond margins (which otherwise would quickly become trampled and muddy). Fencing and dense planting is used to discourage visitors from access to the majority of the pond. | ||
| Pond conservation http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/ The Million Ponds Project will create an extensive network of new ponds across the UK. Ultimately the aim is to reverse a century of pond loss, ensuring that once again the UK has over one million countryside ponds. A critical element of the project is that these new ponds will have clean water. This is important because most countryside ponds are now badly damaged by pollution, and evidence shows that pond wildlife is declining across the UK. Making clean new ponds is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect freshwater wildlife. http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds/ | ||
| Pond management Local government use Local Habitat Action Plans as part of their biodiversity management strategy. UK biodiversity action plans Read Bedford & Luton's pond plan http://www.bedslife.org.uk/documents/HAP%202008%20ponds%20DRAFT.pdf Try this page from Leicestershire on field ponds http://www.lrwt.org.uk/pp/silver/viewsilver.asp?id=607 Or Wokingham http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/environment/countryside/biodiversity/biodiversity-action-plan/ Cheshire's page on ponds. PondHap http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/pond_hap/draftpondhabitatactionplan.htm | ||
| The Pond Life Project 1995-1999 John Moores University, Liverpool A demonstration pond landscape conservation project, involving local volunteers; aiming to raise awareness of this declining habitat across Europe and to promote strategic conservation initiatives. http://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/pondlife/ and http://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/pondlife/pondlife.htm | ||
Want to build a pond? Or try the Pond creation toolkit |
||