Friends of Millers Pond

The Pond

Feeding the Ducks and Geese
Many visitors of all ages enjoy feeding the ducks, but responsible feeding is very important:

Please don't throw whole slices of bread into the water - decaying food pollutes the water and attracts rats.
Feeding the ducks too much bread (especially white bread) is not good for them as they do not get the nutrients they need for a healthy life.
Too much food causes too much geese/duck droppings that sink to the bottom of the pond, silting it up.
Too much silt kills the pond because it reduces the oxygen level and kills pond animals and insects.
Ducks and geese can become unnaturally aggressive towards each other when competing for food. They also get lazy and stop looking for their own food.

FoMP member Lawrie feeding
Olga with wild duck food.

Lily with a friend

Bread wrappers frequently get dropped into the pond causing litter problems and possible injury to waterfowl.

During the cold winter months our resident waterfowl may need help with food, our local pet shop sells specially formulated wild duck food.

The Heron
Millers Pond would not be a pond without the Heron standing proud and waiting by the water's edge. They are known for hunting for fish, duck eggs and ducklings and therefore not very popular with pond and wildlife lovers. The Heron is however, a beautiful sight to see.

The Cormorants
Usually found in warmer and tropical locations, or around the coasts of Great Britain. They are occasionally spotted at Millers Pond. At about 90 cm in length, they are an aquatic bird who use their sleek bodies to dive and cut through the water to catch and eat fish.

The Parakeets
If you are lucky and out and about early enough, you may see a flock of petite green Parakeets chirping away at the top of the trees.

Ducklings
Spring time every year introduces a new family of ducklings and plenty of goslings. The first several weeks are always very tough on these young ones, as this is when they are most vulnerable to predators such as the Heron. Those that survive then grow very fast and eventually will venture away from their mothers.

Geese and Ducks
We have many Geese, Mallard ducks, Moorhens, and it has been known for the occasional Swans that all live together at Millers Pond. We will introduce you to a few of our personal favourites:

Greylag Geese
These two Graylag geese were spotted at Millers Pond, they probably stopped for a rest and food before continuing their journey.

Morehens
Morehens are very regular visitors to Millers Pond, these babies were spotted nesting at the waters edge.

The Mandarin
The male Mandarin duck is the most beautiful and equisite of the waterfowl. They originated from China and the female who is less colouful likes to nest in holes in trees or wooded areas close to lakes and ponds.

Brothers - Pip, Squeak & Wilfred
We have three larger ducks who are brothers. They were originally part of a sibling family of seven who reared themselves from ducklings. When they were young they would always swim across the pond together, almost stuck to each other and looked like one big giant duck. We think they did this to make themselves look bigger to predators. Four died but the remaining three are often seen together.