Pond Life

Before pond

Taking advantage of the continuing warm sunny weather we have been very busy in the garden. The pond has been dug, lined, filled and fruit trees and shrubs have been planted. The Pond is still looking a bit new, but we've done our best to make it look natural and blend the edges into the surroundings. In the middle there are some water lilly pads and around the edge in the boggy areas we put in some sedge, yellow flag iris, forget-me-not and figwort.

The finished pond in all its glory.

Three of the locals.

The pond has already attracted six ducks and a pond skater within hours of being filled, so it's looking promising! The water level will be topped up every time it rains not only in the obvious way, but also via the gutters on the shop which we have connected to the pond.

Ornamental pile of railway sleepers.

We have also created two platforms in the long grass near by out of old railway sleepers which will provide sheltering and basking places for reptiles and amphibians. The untidy areas of a garden are often the most attractive to wildlife and require the least effort to maintain.

The cherry tree.

The fruit trees are primarily for the insects in spring and summer and birds later in the year. We have two varieties of apple, Snadringham and Saturn, both later fruiting to coincide with the migrating thrushes arriving, a cherry which the blackbirds will like, and a hazel to tempt the great-spotted woodpeckers down from the woods. Planting these trees tested our endurance because the dry ground had become like concrete, requiring a pick axe to start the holes. With a big hole filled with lots of compost and a bit of watering these should do well in spite of the soil conditions.

The latest Cley Spy bird news is red kites at both the Glandford and Cley reserve shops, Mediterranean gull at Glandford and a black redstart at Cley. Also one of the nest boxes has been occupied by blue tits.

We'll keep you posted on all the sighting here and on our Twitter and there are more photos on our Flickr too.

Cley Spy