These are two insects that are found close to water, attracted to my new pond. Footballer hoverfly, so named due to its stripey football-kit colours lays its eggs in shallow pond margins. Large Red Damselfly is rarely found away from standing water, unlike some other damselflies. The latter, a new species for my garden, is one of the earliest dragonflies on the wing in Spring.
Setting up a trail-cam near the pond got a few nice pictures of birds coming in for a drink. I was hoping to film a hedgehog as I hadn’t seen ours yet this year, and I did get one shot but not nearby the camera - so that’s good news. This is one of our blackbirds and a house sparrow; both are nesting nearby.
Nice to find this common toad; which are often around in the garden, but not so much this year. He/she goes well with the common frogs that we've had around the pond - the adult one is now joined by some of this year's froglets, who are keeping a low profile under the rocks surrounding the pond basin.
I've got two large terracotta basins that provide permanent water in the garden. Both have rocks, some duckweed, irises and bulrushes, and both had tadpoles. Otherwise though, the wildlife coming to these ponds has been a little disappointing: only a few hoverflies. While the baby frogs continue to grow in one basin, they completely disappeared from the other - not sure what happened, whether it was predation (e.g. by blackbirds) or disease. Anyhow as the water was looking a bit dirty I took the opportunity to change it, and it was gratifying to see an adult frog cooling off in there the very next day. Hoping for some dragonflies, pond skater, etc. to move in next.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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