LB, that's great. Do you think that turtles might use your steps for access to a nice sunbathing area?
LB, you're really something. Everything you do really looks top notch.
What's your ideal amount of eventual plant growth? Are you hoping for a real dense stand? What species of plant have you considered?
Thanks guys. I'm sure the turtles will find their way to the island. I've only seen one in my pond so far this summer. Bruce, I'd like enough plant growth to help the island look more natural, whatever that consists of. I guess its going to be trial and error. I still want to find some water lillies and try those out as well.
Speaking of sun bathing, check out these pictures that my wife took today when we pulled up to the pond. It looks like these egrets were taking a siesta. Hopefully they didn't eat too many fish and minnows before hand. This seems to be a fairly common event lately.
Get Out! That is too cool LB!
The first pic sure got me to cock my head and go "huh?" What the heck; a Gilligan's Island hangout for GI Joe and his bud's.
Let us know if/when the ducks roost. Post another pic when they do.
I built a floating island several years ago. Wasn't as fancy as yours though. Each spring for two years I anchored it in the pond and planted stuff on it. I just ripped up some bog sod from near my pond and stuck it on the island with the roots dangling in the water. It just had whatever grassy stuff grows by my pond. I covered my island with chicken wire first and then put the bog sod on top. I put enough on so it weighed the island down enough so that the roots stayed in the water. It grew fine. Only problem is the ducks never used it. I put a mallard nest cylinder on the island. I even raised some "wild" strain mallards that I figured would take to the island. They were too stupid to sleep on the island at night so the fox kept getting them. It never did attract ducks. Hope yours will, it ought to since it is definitely high rent compared to mine.
HAHAHA. Thanks. My three bahama pintails have just realized that when it rains quite a bit, there is a long drainage ditch behind my property that fills with water. They dissapeared for 4 or 5 days last week, returned the day before yesterday since it dried up a bit, and were gone again yesterday after it rained. This makes no since to me. They have 1/4 acre pond of clean water, minnows, snails, grain, and weeds, not to mention an island to escape racoons and coyotes, and still wander off. I guess I should have expected it since these are "wild/ornamental" ducks. If they dissapear for good, I'll just have to try some rouen ducks. They look like mallards but are too fat to fly. Maybe they will use the island. If the pintails use the island I'll make sure to get some good pictures for ya'll. So far I've just seen a couple egrets on it.
Well, its been a couple months, and the bahama pintails haven't come back to the pond. I did get some northern pintails about a month ago that are much less nervous than the bahamas and appear to be here to stay. They are absolutely beautiful. They use the floating island all the time to preen, rest and sleep. However, I don't think they will ever use the nest boxes that I designed for the bahama pintails. Here's some pictures:
On Look-Out:
Feeding:
Swimming:
Drake and Hen:
Drake on Island:
Swimming 2:
Upside Down:
LB nice job and great pics. Are those cattle egrets ? I don't see any in the water/fishing. The only time I have seen fishing egrets in groups is nesting in a rookery.
Thanks. I'm not really sure what they are. I just grew up calling them egrets. Hopefully they're what you call cattle egrets and don't eat fish.
Aah, cattle egrets. They do a good job of walking around with the cows and eating the grasshoppers and other bugs that the cows kick up when they walk around to graze.
They also do a really good job of killing out groves of trees where they next in huge flocks.
No, but the Great Blue Heron probably does.
Floating Island
Bahama Pintails
