Creating a waterfowl heaven

[TSOWOATNKC]

We basically own wetland. A good 1.5 of our acreage is wetland. During the summer the water level goes down in our little wetland, but the water table is still about 1ft down on our “field” side of the berm even in summer.

We’re looking at building/digging a pond next to (but not right next to) our berm to ease the field flooding we get every fall-spring. Seriously, there is knee deep water on our field in the winter!

We’re planning to create this pond with native aquatic plants. Right now we’re looking at duckweed and cat tail. Both grow everywhere around here, neither are invasive species. We had duckweed in our wetland until the gentle little stream along one edge became a huge torrent in the winter, then dried out that summer which basically killed the duckweed. If we built a pond, we could ensure neither happened to it.

What aquatic plants do your waterfowl love? What do you think is an ideal depth and perimeter size for a waterfowl haven for a couple dozen geese/ducks? I know goslings and ducklings love to dive, but I don’t know if they still love to do that when they’re older if given the chance.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know nothing about building a pond but I can tell you even as adults my geese and ducks love diving under water my goose does flips and this is in the large kiddy pool I can imagine how much fun she'd have in a pond.