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A duck pond is a
pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...
for
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
s and other
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...
. Duck ponds provide
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Typically, such ponds are round, oval or
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...
-shaped. An example is the lily pond in the
University Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, thou ...
at
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in England, constructed in 1925. Often, as in public parks, such ponds are artificial and ornamental in design. Sometimes they may be less ornamental, as for example in a farmyard or flooded
quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
. A small domestic version of the duck pond is at Knowle Farm in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. Some duck ponds are purposely built for the sport of duck hunting. These flight ponds are constructed by hunters and wildfowlers to attract ducks, such as
mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...
,
teals Teal is a blue-green color. Teal or TEAL may also refer to: Ducks * some members of the subfamily Anatinae (dabbling ducks): ** some members of the genus ''Anas'': *** Cape teal (''Anas capensis'') *** Red-billed teal or red-billed duck (''Anas ...
,
bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Anas albeola''. The genus n ...
and wigeon, at dawn and at dusk. The ponds have shallow edges to allow ducks to reach food on the bottom. Barley is often used to attract or hold the birds.


Duck houses

A duck house, duck canopy, or duck island, is an often floating structure that onto or into which ducks can climb, offering protection from predators such as foxes. Some are simple wooden shelters on land, while others are on islands in duck ponds or lakes; they can be quite ornate and/or large structures. A rather famous example can be found at Woodway House in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, England. A small domestic version of a duck house is at Knowle Farm in Derbyshire. Such houses are also used for the birds to nest in a safe and convenient area. Dummy eggs, originally ceramic and now plastic, are used to encourage birds to lay in the duck house.


Installation and maintenance

They must be cleaned out about every month to prevent an unwanted and rather smelly buildup of fecal matter (guano) that is gradually left behind by the birds using it. They may also be prone to flooding during a storm, if they are not raised adequately off the ground.


Media reference

Duck islands came to public prominence in the United Kingdom in May 2009, when a Member of Parliament claimed expenses to have one installed on his property. Sir Peter Viggers chose to stand down as an MP after he was shown to have attempted to pay for his duck island at the UK Parliament's expense. File:Duck pond with gazebo.jpg, Duck pond with
gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...
at apartment in
Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, its population 14,113. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the United ...
File:Duck near pond.jpg, Duck pond in a public park, Aci Sant'Antonio,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
File:Compton martin duck pond.JPG,
Compton Martin Compton Martin is a small village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset and in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority in England. The parish has a population of 508. It lies between Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake ...
duck pond File:Gainesville Northeast Hist Dist01.jpg, A duck pond in
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in ...
File:4 Modliszewice 10.jpg, Duck house in
Modliszewice Modliszewice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Końskie, within Końskie County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Końskie and north-west of the regional capital Kielce Kie ...
, Poland File:Woodway21-DuckHouse.jpg, The old cob-built Duck House at Woodway House in
Teignmouth, Devon Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...
File:Skogaholm Manor.JPG, Sir
Peter Viggers Sir Peter John Viggers (13 March 1938 – 19 March 2020) was a British Conservative politician and lawyer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gosport for 36 years, from 1974 to 2010. He stepped down as a result of the investigation ...
' duck house was a replica of the Swedish Skogaholm Manor File:Duck farming vembanad lake 03.jpg, A Duck pond in
Alappuzha, Kerala Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and internat ...
File:Duckingham Palace.jpg, "Duckingham Palace" duck house on Widmore Pond,
Sonning Common Sonning Common is a village and civil parish in a relatively flat, former common land part of the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, centred west south-west of Henley-on-Thames and north of Reading. History During the English Civil War ...
, UK.


See also

*
Ponds A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or Artificiality, artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% Aquatic plant, emergent vegetation helps in disting ...
*
Duck-baiting Duck-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of ducks against dogs. Overview Duck-baiting involved releasing a pinioned duck on to a pond. The dog dived into the pond coursing the duck, which was unable to fly. A spectacular diving exh ...
*
Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
* The Big Duck building *
Poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...
*
Water fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...
* Woodway House *
Hen house Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion ...
*
Dog house A doghouse, also known as a kennel, is an outbuilding to provide shelter for a dog from various weather conditions. Background Humans and domesticated dogs have been companions for more than 15,000 years, beginning with the wolf and hunter–g ...
*
Pilling's Pond Pilling's Pond is a privately owned urban waterfowl reserve and breeding ground in the North Seattle neighborhood of Licton Springs, Seattle, Washington. It was created by lifetime resident Charles A. Pilling and has been a bird breeding site and ...
*
Long Duck Pond Long Duck Pond is a pond in the West Wind Shores, Massachusetts, West Wind Shores neighborhood of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The pond is located east of Big Rocky Pond and west of Little Herring Pond and Triangle Pond (Massachusetts), Triangle Pond. ...


References


External links


Friends of the Duck Pond — OUPD

The University Parks, Oxford — Introduction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duck Pond Ducks in popular culture Ducks Garden features Ponds