I have watched a human-made, one-acre pond in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for a few minutes at a time, many times over the years. And, at times, interesting creatures were at that impoundment, including a wintering tundra swan, several kinds of migrant ducks, groups of wintering ring-billed gulls that stop to drink and bathe, a Cooper's hawk chasing a belted kingfisher with intents to kill and eat it, the "waaaaaah" calling of male common toads in June and July, and four species of the heron family wading in the pond to catch fish.
But on May 23, 2016, I decided to visit that pond a few times for about an hour each time to see what kinds of life were in and around it at that time of year. This built and manicured pond has seen many people uses, including fishing, ice skating, people feeding ducks and people walking dogs on the lawn of short grass and a few trees and shrubbery around it. And the local fire company uses the pond to test their trucks, hoses and other equipment. But, in spite of all that human activity and lack of cover along its shores, making it anything but a wildlife refuge, there still is a lot of life and beauty around that impoundment.
The first wildlife I saw at that pond on May 23 were several swallows and swifts swooping swiftly over the water and lots of bluegill sunfish and large-mouthed bass in it. This impoundment is on the edge of a town with suburbs on one side and farmland on the other. Half a dozen swifts came out of town where they nest down the insides of chimneys to catch flying insects over the pond and scoop water from it by briefly skimming its surface, leaving a tiny wake on the water. Meanwhile, several barn swallows and a few tree swallows came from barns and fields to do the same. All those swifts and swallows zipped back and forth among their fellows without collision, creating an interesting show.
Groups of bluegills and bass of all sizes hovered among clumps of algae in the clear shallows all the way around that body of water. Some of those related fish had nests on the sandy bottom where females of each kind did or will spawn thousands of eggs that will be fertilized by the males that made those nurseries. Each male bluegill and bass will court several females of his kind around and around over his nest and spread sperm over their eggs as they spawn them. Then each male fish protects the eggs and small young from other fish that would eat those tidbits.
Impressively huge carp and goldfish also live in that impoundment where they also spawn. On warm, sunny days those scaly giants lie and swim sluggishly at the surface of the clear water where they are quite visible. Because this is a built pond, the bluegills, bass, carp and goldfish were all introduced to it by people over the years.
A half-dozen purple grackles, and a few each of starlings and house sparrows patrolled the gravel-lined edges of the pond for invertebrates. These species play the role of sandpipers along the shores of built impoundments. A pair of mourning doves came to the water's edge to drink.
A spotted sandpiper danced and bobbed along the pond's edge as it looked for invertebrates. Their pumping along is a form of camouflage, making them look like debris bouncing in the wavelets on the shores of waterways and impoundments. This spotty probably had a mate setting on a clutch of four eggs in some sheltered place near the pond.
A few American robins and a killdeer plover trotted over the short grass around the pond in search of invertebrates. The robins were nesting on low branches of nearby trees while the killdeer probably had a mate setting on a clutch of four eggs somewhere near the pond.
Three broods of mallard ducks plied the waters of this impoundment. Mallards and a small group of Canada geese are almost always on and around this pond.
A pair each of eastern kingbirds and Baltimore orioles fluttered in a flowering tulip poplar tree, a tree they probably will nest in. I heard the male oriole singing from that tree, which alerted me to the presence of both species when I looked for the male oriole with binoculars. Both these species prefer open habitats, with scattered tall trees in which they hatch youngsters.
A pair each of song sparrows and gray catbirds flitted among the sparse shrubbery along a part of the pond. I heard and saw the male sparrow singing from the top of a bush. Both these species of bird songsters are adaptable and sometimes nest in sparse shrubbery.
Surprisingly to me, I saw three attractive red-eared sliders and two large snapping turtles in this pond. The red-ears were small, green pet turtles that were eventually released by people into the pond when those turtles were no longer wanted. Sliders, like most water turtles, bask in the warm sunlight every sunny summer morning to warm up to have the energy to hunt food and mates. These hauled out on the gravelly water's edge to warm up. At least one of those red-ears is a male because I saw his long front toe nails and lengthy tail that mark his gender. Large snapping turtles are dangerous to every living creature in a pond, including baby ducks, but they are part of watery habitats.
I saw a few green darner dragonflies careening back and forth over this impoundment in pursuit of flying insects to eat, and mates. As these large dragonflies zip by us, we see their olive colored thoraxes and pale-blue abdomens. Darners this early in the year had migrated farther south last fall. But now they are back and looking for mates to spawn with to create another generation of darners. Dusk on May 23 was interesting, too. Swifts and swallows were still flashing over the water after flying insects while purple grackles patrolled the pond's edges for invertebrates. But as the twilight deepened, the swifts and swallows were conspicuous by their absence and, suddenly, a half dozen silhouetted little brown bats were swooping and dipping across the sunset in pursuit of flying insects. Those little flying mammals were as interesting to see in the sky as the swifts and swallows were earlier.
Even the most manicured ponds has lots of life. All these adaptable creatures at this one provided much inspiring entertainment, over the years and that day in May, and demonstrate the resilience of life. And they are built for what they do. Swifts, swallows and bats are built for flying while carp are built for groveling for aquatic plants and invertebrates on the bottoms of impoundments and sluggish waterways. Readers have only to get out and look for adaptable life in human-made habitats near your homes to be inspired by and enlightened about nature.
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