Nest-Building

When we designed the back garden we weren't sure whether the central feature would be a pond or a bed designed for damp-soil tolerant plants, but we were thrilled when, very quickly, the area decided for itself to be a pond and, while the water level has fluctuated with the rainfall, a pond it has remained.

Until this morning the only inhabitants of the pond were five waterboatmen which arrived about a week ago, but then....

....we spotted a couple of house martins swooping low over it. They must have been the martins' reconnaissance unit because, within a short time, the far side of the pond was host to....

....as many as nine martins and, when we looked closely, the occasional....

....swallow, all of them collecting mud for nest-building.

Sadly, none of them has chosen our eaves to build under, probably because they already have some houses which suit their purposes. However, we're thrilled that they've chosen our pond from which to collect the mud they need for their nests.