I Built a Wildlife Pond... and so Many Animals Came! | Wildlife Habitats | Robert E Fuller

No wildlife habitat is complete without water, providing a place for animals to drink and bathe. So when I started a new project, constructing a pond was vital. I started building in a small patch of ash woodland to see what I'd attract through the seasons. Today we're putting this pond in, we're having enough rain today to probably fill it. I roped in some help to set the pond in place, ready to fit it with cameras that will follow the comings and goings over a year. So I'm going to put my cameras back here and the wildlife comes up through a path, there's a badger track, the deer will be using it, the foxes will be using it, and it's a case now of working out this camera angle. It had to look as natural as possible, so I used stone and mossy branches around the edge. In the meantime, I put up a new nest box, in the hope of tempting a pair of owls to set up home here. It's really nice and dry in here, which is a good sign. Prevailing wind's coming from that direction, so it's almost ideal. It just needs all of this space here, infilling, so the owls can come in the entrance up at the top. Looking forward to getting this nest site sorted out and hopefully get some tawny owls in here this year. In the depths of winter, I had an important job still to do. This is extreme camera fitting. It's freezing cold, drifting snow, the pond is underneath here up at Ashwood, and I want to get these cameras fitted before the spring. As the snow melted, it was finally time to fill the pond. Only a few days later, the pond had its first visitors, field fairs. Other animals soon found their way to this new watering hole. A bathing buzzard, drinking badgers, and even a passing stout. Just as the wildlife got used to the spot, a cold snap turned the water to ice, catching a few off guard. By night, a badger wandered by, looking for a place to drink. A fox walked across the frozen pond, and a tawny owl dropped in, on her way to check out my nearby nest box. She even went inside to look around. A nest scraped, a promising sign she wants to lay her eggs here. As winter gave way to spring, more animals came out, looking for food and water. A female roe deer passed through, molting the last of a winter coat. Despite its small size, the pond attracted a pair of mallard ducks, who came in to drink and bathe. In the nest box, tawny owl pair Ozzie and Bonnie had a clutch of eggs, and by late spring, two chicks hatched. In June, the summer heat attracted more birds to the pond. A woodpecker, a sparrowhawk, and even tawny owl Bonnie. With more hours of sunshine, I spotted a badger drinking in daylight, and the tawny owls were ready to fledge the nest. Seven months after the pond was finished, a summer drought hit the Yorkshire worlds, drying up local water sources. And even here in the woodland, all of the plants are drying out and getting very crispy, but just up here's my pond, and it's now needed more than ever for the local wildlife. The pond may be small, but there's been a steady stream of wildlife using it to rehydrate, and to cool off. The buzzards enjoyed a bit of splashing around, followed by a much rarer goshawk. This juvenile female is only three months old, and already independent. When a rat wandered through, she showed off her hunting skills, catching it in one fell swoop. By night, tawny owl pair Bonnie and Ozzie were regular visitors, hunting for rodents, and bathing in the morning light. Soon, my cameras captured the moment the owlets, now 10 weeks old, visited the pond for the first time. As the leaves fell in autumn, many birds like pheasants had to fatten up while food was abundant, and some even put on a courtship display. The pond was still a hub of activity, attracting hungry stoats, taking a chance at hunting. And as wintering bramblings returned from Scandinavia, it was the perfect spot for them to forage and drink. By December, I've been capturing life at this watering hole for a year. It's been incredible to see the breadth of species making the most of this new habitat. Coming by to drink, bathe, and even hunt. It's been amazing to create something so simple, yet so vital for the wildlife here. A lifeline through the seasons, and a place they can rely on year-round.