I was talking about a 'track loader', (a bulldozer with a bucket instead of a blade), not a tractor w/a loader.
However, I suspect you could do a decent job with a tractor loader if you loosened the dirt first with a one-way plow or a heavy disk.
Another option is to rent the equipment, DIY for the less skilled work (clearing trees, pushing/stockpiling the top soil, etc.) and hiring a skilled (retired?) operator to do the finishing work. We did this a few years back. The operator(s) would run the dozer from 7 to 3 and I'd get on it after work (or my 12 year old son) and we'd clear trees, fill ditches, etc. We rented it for a week to clean up three ponds, extended the lease another week, finally had to get a 3rd week (when another employee told me that 3 weeks = a month). Actually moved it to another farm and reworked 2 more ponds.
Get a good idea what you need done and how long it will take. There is a substantial discount for longer leases - (daily = $100/hour, weekly = $45/hour and monthly = $25/hour). Generally, 3 days rents pays for a week and 3 weeks pays for a month. So, if you need it for 3 weeks to complete your pond, you might as well keep it that last week and clear trees, shape gullies, dig that swimming pool, etc. The last week is free.
If you have a life, you probably need to line up and extra operator or two. It is hard to get 40 hours on a machine in a week if you have to take off a day here and there for business. Fortunately, between me and my 16 year old, we were able to get 38 hours on a track loader in a week (during spring break when he was out of school). Course, we were lucky, they left it at the farm an extra day before pickup.
