21 Oct 2014

21 Oct 14 - An Unexpected Garden Visitor

Late on this afternoon, I found a Grey Wagtail feeding & drinking around my small pond in the front garden. This is only the second Grey Wagtail record in the garden, with the previously record being 3 Grey Wagtails on one afternoon in late Sep 99 around the much larger back garden pond. However, Grey Wagtails are an occasional Spring & expected Autumn species flying over the garden, so it was always possible I would see one in the garden again. Despite being a much commoner species over the garden, I've yet to find a Pied Wagtail in the garden. The photos were all shot from the living room through the glass.
Grey Wagtail: Only the second record in the garden
Grey Wagtail: Looks like a young bird
Grey Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Grey Wagtail: It was around for less than 5 minutes from when I found it, until it departed
To show how good this is: the pond is less than 4 foot from the living room window & is only 4 foot by 2 foot in size. So you don't need a big pond to attract wildlife to your pond. This pond is home to breeding Smooth Newts, erratically visiting Common Frogs, as well as breeding Azure Damselflies & Large Red Damselflies. It is a wildlife pond so clearly no Goldfish, which do untold damage by eating a lot of the local wildlife trying to establish themselves in a new pond. It is also a popular pond for bathing with the resident & visiting Birds.
My small pond: You don't need a big pond to attract wildlife to your pond