Backyard Ponds and Wildlife Ponds

The most popular type of backyard pond is without a doubt a fish pond, with clean water and filters. The much less common option, requesting a more adventurous spirit, is to build a wildlife outdoor pond.

What is a wildlife pond? You can think of a wildlife pond as a self-sustaining ecosystem. A corner of your backyard where nature is in control and you are only an observer.

Main steps to create a wildlife outdoor pond:
1. Select a site close to nature, where wildlife have free access to your pond.
2. Build your pond as described below.
3. Add a bit of "dirty water" from a natural wildlife pond.
4. Let nature take control.
5. Eventually, the environment will take control and transform your pond into a nice natural bog.
The results? Well, if you follow the steps described here you will have a variety of creatures living inside and around your pond, that will need little or no care at all. This is indeed one of the most interesting backyard landscaping ideas you can have and one that needs more space than your normal yard size.

How to build a wildlife pond: Creating a wildlife pond is very similar to any other informal outdoor pond, but you will need much less equipment as you don't need filtration and aeration, your ecosystem will take care of the this. Your pond also won't have fish in it, as they will threaten your insect population.

You should place your pond close to nature, at the very edge of your property. But remember that your pond was build to attract insects, frogs and other animals so to avoid future problems, place it on a site far from your house and neighbors property. Leave the area around the pond untidy, high vegetation can be a nice hiding spot to animals you want to attract. The contents of this water will introduce naturally occurring organisms that will populate your pond.

Animals you can expect to see in your pond: The "dirty water" you borrowed will introduce a rich insect population to your pond. You can probably expect to see first pond skaters and and later dragonflies. And then, where there are insects there are insects predators, such as birds, toads and frogs. If for any reason your pond is not attracting the type of wildlife you expect, you can always try to introduce some toads and snails. Snails are also a good addition if you want to keep your water relatively clean and control the mosquito population.

Pond building have a large number of options, and wildlife ponds are not always the most popular, but if well planned and executed it can be a wonderful part of your backyard.

If you are looking for some ideas and inspiration for your outdoor pond, then visit pond-building-mastery.com to find essential tutorials, know-how and tips about pond building.