Adopted by Ducks
The whole pond
A pair of ducks adopted Sue Wehrman's pond this spring and
she shared her photos. They were delightful, so we asked if she'd
be our September Pond of the Month. Since the ducks arrived, she's
done quite a bit of research and taken some wonderful pictures
of them. Sue writes: I started with a 220 gallon pre-formed pond.
Then I went on my first Pond-O-Rama tour three years ago and decided
that I absolutely HAD to have a pond like those I had seen on
the tour. I was hooked.
Overview:
-
Owner: Sue Wehrman
- Location: Ballwin, Missouri
- Re-designed and constructed by: Chris Siewing of Nature's
Re-Creations in 2007
- Size: About 2500 gallons
- Special features: Garden, pond, fish, waterfalls and a stone
bridge
The pond was originally built by Pond Envy and was nestled under
a very large pine tree (about 50 feet tall) on the hill. The rock
bridge is part of the original design. Then, last spring, the
pine tree began to die and was diagnosed with borers by a local
arborist. So, it had to go. Now I was left with a very large pond
next to a very large hole in my yard.
I contacted a number of different contractors for ideas, and ended
up with Chris Siewing of Nature's Re-Creations. He actually redesigned
the pond, added all the boulders, stream and waterfalls last September.
As far as I am concerned his work is brilliant. I could not be
more pleased. Everyone who comes to my house says the yard is
like a resort.
Waterfalls and lilies
I am in love with my pond. I have koi, comets and mosquito fish,
all of which I have bred and I've given away several babies from
all. I've also put 'Weather Loaches' (or Dojo Loaches) in the
pond, and they winter over.
Lots of fish!
A pair of ducks adopted the pond this spring. At first, I was
afraid they might bother the fish, but they absolutely do not.
A pair scouted out the pond and hung out together for several
weeks, and we named them Donald and Daisy. Then, when the female
built the nest and started laying the eggs, they would only come
to the pond to deposit an egg (one per day) and leave. What I've
read says this is so they do not attract predators to the nest
before she is ready to start sitting on the eggs. When the female
completed laying all of her eggs, the male left and she started
sitting.
Shooting the rapids!
The one thing the ducks DO like is plants. They have defoliated
A LOT of the plants in the pond. Just for info: they love water
hyacinth, pickerel and water celery. They have not eaten lotus,
lizard tail, cattails, taro or reeds, and they've just chewed
the edges of the water lilies. They like variegated hostas, but
not the others (go figure!) So they will take a toll on the plants,
but I wouldn't trade the experience of having them for anything.
The plants will grow back. And they are not messy like geese,
if you get my meaning.
Supposedly, once they nest successfully in a spot, they return
every year. So we'll see what happens next spring.
