Jules Howard - The Wildlife Pond Book

The Wildlife Trusts is a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life who share a set of common beliefs. We believe the natural world is valuable in its own right and is the foundation of our wellbeing and prosperity. Everyone deserves to live in a healthy, wildlife-rich natural world.

BLOOMSBURY WILDLIFE

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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This electronic edition published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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First published in Great Britain 2019

Copyright Jules Howard, 2019

Copyright 2019 photographs and illustrations as credited

Jules Howard has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work

For legal purposes the image credits constitute an extension of this copyright page

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for

ISBN: 978-1-4729-5832-7 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-5831-0 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-5830-3 (ePDF)

Designed by Austin Taylor

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CONTENTS

by Kate Bradbury

FOREWORD BY KATE BRADBURY

When Jules sent me his book I read it cover to cover I was enthralled and hung on every word. It gives us a fascinating insight into the origins of ponds and their role in history both in the British Isles but also further afield. Id never considered footprint ponds before I read Juless book. Id never considered prehistoric frogs and toads relying on the feet of dinosaurs to enable them to breed. But now I know. And, well, theres no going back.

A pond is surely the most joyous of garden wildlife habitats. Ive lost hours staring at them at house sparrows taking it in turns to bathe in the shallows, at common darter dragonflies dropping eggs into the pondweed, at the great fat herring gull that has taken to my new pond with such gusto, it has at least four daily swims. Ponds bring light and life to a garden. Theyre noisy with partying amphibians in spring and busy with flitting insects and hungry bats on summer evenings. Sit quietly next to your pond at dusk and you may even spot a hedgehog drinking at the waters edge.

Its just as exciting beneath the surface. Find your inner child and treat yourself to a fishing net and a white tray. Empty the net into the tray, and youll come face to face with greater diving beetles, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, freshwater shrimps and stickleback fish. And then there are all the other weird, other-worldly things that barely look alive. Have you heard of water hog-lice, copepods or pea mussels? Youre about to.

Ponds are important, too. I cant think of anything that is as fun, yet as vital, as a garden pond. While we lose rivers, streams and ponds in the wild, our gardens can help mitigate some of these wildlife losses, although, tragically, not all of them. We cant provide habitats for water voles or kingfishers in our gardens. Were unlikely to provide homes for rare beetles and natterjack toads. But we can provide somewhere for common frogs and toads and palmate newts to breed, for several dragonfly species to lay eggs and for countless birds and small mammals to drink. Garden ponds provide a habitat for wildlife that would otherwise not have it, its as simple as that. And doing so is wonderful. We should all dig a pond, and Jules is the perfect person to show us how.

I dont know how my new garden pond compares with that of a dinosaur footprint, but Id like to think its a suitable alternative. I dug it just two weeks ago, during a cold spring. But so far Ive seen house sparrows, blackbirds, starlings, woodpigeons and collared doves bathing and drinking from it. At night Ive captured hedgehogs drinking from it on my camera trap. Then theres my big fat swimming herring gull, of course. Im driving myself mad looking for the first invertebrates to turn up; anxious for greater diving beetles, non-biting midges and pond skaters. And Im spending far too much time wondering whats going to be first to land on my bespoke dragonfly perch.

Juless book is a fantastic resource for wildlife gardeners and a lifeline for all who rely on ponds for breeding and survival. Why? Because youre going to read this and want to dig a pond. Even if you already have one, youre going to want to dig another. Or you might lend Juless book to a neighbour or friend, and encourage them to dig a pond. Simply by writing this book, Jules has improved the fate of thousands of wildlife species, because his enthusiasm is so infectious hell have us all digging holes in the garden before weve finished reading. So, what are you waiting for? Make a cup of tea, have a read, and then grab your spade. The water hog-lice are waiting