Anyone have any Helpful hints for digging my first pond?

[SportTees]

I have 2 spots where I can dig my pond...one is in the woods and the other is in an area that has been cleared. My main concern is with critters getting the ducks if I put it in the woods but also could it being in the woods deter hawks. Would the pond bring water snakes and is there a way to help deal with them. Ive raised ducks and they are pretty hardy but this is my first time dealing with a pond. Any hints on getting it to keep water?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I would put it in the cleared area. I don't think the tree coverage would make a big difference over a pond area when it comes to hawks.

If you have clay soil, it might hold water, but it would get really muddy depending on the depth and size you are considering. If it is a pond smaller than 30 ft wide or so you may want to consider a pond liner.

When I had ducks, I never had any problems with water snakes, but it would be interesting to hear from other duck people.

 

[jruhle]

I am currently in the works of digging a pond in a wooded area. We have so much water above on our property it litterally will fill in as I dig. I thought about using pondliner so it wouldn't get so mucky, but they will probably muck it up anyway. In your case, i'd use some kind of pondliner to hold the water. I will be fencing in my pond and webbing it since every predator in my area loves to eat duck!

 

[SportTees]

I'am hoping mine will fill with water as I dig because the area I'm wanting to put it stays wet in the winter but dries up in summer. I'm wondering if there are any advantages to not using a liner if it does fill as I dig?