WILDLIFE reserves the right to be fussy. You might build creatures what you think is their perfect home, but they have the final decision about whether they move in and make themselves comfortable.
Take, for example, the mute swans at Inverleith P
ark pond. These birds have only just decided to settle here, despite the fact that this boardwalk and wetland refurbishment was completed back in the autumn of 2006, and subsequently won the British Association of Landscape Industries Landscape Award in 2007.
They may have been in a bit of a huff. While the pond was being completed, Berwick Swan Rescue relocated them to Musselburgh for the period during which they were "in moult" (roughly six weeks in the summer when they're unable to fly). They then had to fly back to Inverleith Park pond themselves, once their requisite plumage had grown back in.
Perhaps it was the addition of a custom-built swan platform, finished last month, that softened their mood. But disgruntled swans aside, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of other species of winged wildlife moving into the area, attracted by the botanical life.
"The pond prior to the project had no breeding birds, because of the absence of vegetation, whereas last year there were broods of mallard, moorhen and coot, and even a few species of dragonfly," says Nick Benge, owner of Water Gems, the company responsible for designing the new pond.
"Just now there are four tiny coot chicks, and the moorhens are nesting as well." Nothing, by the way, is as cute a sight as a red-headed, fluffy-bodied coot chick.
It's perhaps unsurprising that all these creatures should be inspired to stick around and breed in such a natural-looking spot. Topiary and lawns, as Benge says, just turn wildlife off. "We were going for the look of a wild environment, and we wanted to use native plants. We definitely didn't want it to appear manicured. However, there's a balancing act to making it look as natural as possible without letting it appear scruffy."
A special highlight for those responsible for the new pond – Water Gems, residents group the Friends of Inverleith Park and the City of Edinburgh Council – is that the pair of mute swans are now trying to breed. It's a relief for Benge, who spent the winter cutting down the dead purple loosestrife (which was planted in one of the silt areas of the pond) and putting it in a neat pile for the swans to nest on.
"There is a large nest and the female has just started sitting," he says. "To my knowledge this is the first time in the history of the pond, which is long and varied, that a pair has nested."
The quality of the water these future cygnets will be introduced to is also much better since the work was done. Previously, there was a bloom of algae, now eradicated by the introduction of a gravel-based reed bed, which the water passes through. It's also naturally cleansed by native wetland plants, including yellow flag iris, burr reed and marsh marigold. "These plants strip the water of the nutrients that cause the algae problems," explains Benge.
The pond is also free of all the years of accumulated bits and pieces stagnating at the bottom. We might like to imagine that there were archaeological treasures to be discovered when they dredged the debris from the pond, but the truth is rather more prosaic. "The only interesting things were a few old coins and some bottles," says Benge.
So, with clean water, now-mature plants and wildlife that has finally settled in, Benge hopes that visitors don't disturb the pond's delicate equilibrium. "Surprisingly we've had very little vandalism or damage, and nobody has fallen in. So hopefully the swans will remain undisturbed and happy." sm
• For more information, visit
www.watergems.co.uk;
www.inverleithpark.co.uk;
www.swan-trust.orgThe full article contains 675 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
