A Guide To Garden Wildlife - 2. Ponds

A GUIDE TO GARDEN WILDLIFE - 2. PONDS (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 31st May 2017

Brett Westwood is joined by naturalist Phil Gates in a garden near Bristol.

With the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson and Tom Lawrence, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you're most likely to see and hear in a garden pond.

Brett and Phil begin by watching pond skaters (the wolves of the pond) and whirligig beetles on the surface of the water. These beetles are able to look down and up at the same time. Imagine if we could this!

Below the surface, life is anything but quiet as water boatmen communicate with one another by stridulation - producing a remarkably loud tapping sound. There are also backswimmers (so called because they swim upside down), which can be identified explains Phil as "the ones that bite really painfully" so best left alone.

Further below the surface, you might find frogs (their loud purring courtship calls announcing their return to the pond after hibernation and the arrival of spring), and the terrors of the deep; the dragonfly nymphs. These are fearsome predatory larvae with needle-sharp pincer-like jaws, "jet propelled" and feed on tadpoles.

These larvae are transformed into the beautiful flying adults, which are not uncommon; species like the Southern Hawker Dragonfly readily colonise small garden ponds and "they'll come and check you out. They're curious insects, they hover round your head and come and look at you." Don't be alarmed they are completely harmless despite their old names such as 'Horse stinger' and 'Devil's darning needle'!

Producer Sarah Blunt

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.