Clearance around the pond completed

Clearing back the blackthorn and willow which had been shading out the pond is now completed. The  'before' photo is in the post of 3rd Feb - and here is what it looks like now:

It is more of a 'marshy area' rather than a pond, as it was dug in continuity with a drainage ditch (an on-stream pond). This is not necessarily a bad thing as a marshy area with different water levels is probably a much better wildlife habitat (see here or the  DEFRA website for more details). The run-off water in the ditch is from the fields of a dairy farm and is probably very rich in nutrients, so would probably not be good for an open water pond. So I shall just continue doing a bit of silt removal to maintain some variety in the water level in this marshy area. I have left the emergent vegetation on the bankside well alone as this is great habitat, and have concentrated on removing overhanging bushes and trees.

All the branch cuttings have been added to the 'branch heap' which you can see in the background of the photo above. This provides an excellent place for nesting birds (robin and wren among

the branches and mallard in the base) as well as an over-wintering site for insects.

Any bigger pieces of wood that were not suitable for fire logs have been stacked at intervals around

the marsh to act as frog, newt and toad homes - as well as adding some more rotting wood habitat.