By Lyn Funnell 
Since we dug out a large pond in our garden recently, it has really attracted the wildlife.
We piled up the clayey contents of the pond and turned it into a rockery, with the help of some compost and my neighbour’s unwanted rocks from her garden. It’s developing nicely.
The pond is left alone to develop naturally. We don’t add any chemicals to clean it.
On the first evening that we filled it, a bat flew over, catching the midges.
There’s a family of albino squirrels in the woods behind our house. And a baby squirrel (known as a kitten) happily pops in to bounce around on our lawn.
A baby Jay comes to visit us every morning, gazing at its own reflection in the pond and having a drink.
It stays for ages and isn’t afraid of us watching it and admiring its lovely colouring.
A Grey Wagtail pops in every few days. It eats the insects on the pond.
I was surprised the other day; I threw out some stale bread and I saw a magpie pick up a bit, then he dipped it in the pond before he ate it, obviously to soften it!
But the stars of the pond are the Canada Geese.
Their families have been visiting this area for many years. They arrive around April and have their babies on an island on a nearby lake.
They’re very sociable. This year two families have combined, walking around the area together and showing off their 11 goslings while one of the adults stays on guard.
Now that the goslings are getting big, there’s not much room in our pond for them all at once!
They’re nearly ready to migrate. My neighbour across the road saw them running along the road, flapping their wings. They were obviously practicing for their long journey. We’ll miss them. But we’ll look forward to their return next year.
Who knows what surprises the rest of the year will produce?
We love sitting outside, looking at the pond and listening to the sounds all around us.
