The picture at Reed Pond last week - algae has diminished since then and tadpoles have now been seen
LAMBLEY’S Reed Pond Nature Reserve presents no cause for concern, says the Notts Wildlife Trust. The recent spell of warm dry weather has led to an unusually early and thick bloom of algae in the pond, with the surface almost completely covered in green by 10 April 2011.
Responding to concerns raised by dumbles.co.uk, the Wildlife Trust southern reserves officer Lee Schofield comented that this “isn’t really anything to worry about”. John Osborne, site warden, acknowledges that the bloom is earlier than usual due to the dry weather, but this occurs on an annual basis usually in mid- to late-summer. Any atempt to physically remove the algae would be likely to do more harm than good.
“Fairly shortly, the algae will start to die back as it is fed upon by invertebrates and tadpoles”, said Mr Schofield. Since our original concerns were raised last week, the covering has diminished noticeably. The first ducklings and tadpoles were seen on the pond yesterday, 18 April 2011.
The Reed Pond nature reserve was gifted to Notts Wildlife Trust by the owners of Reed Pond House, Mr and Mrs Burks, in 1993. Reed Pond House has itself recently been sold by the Burks family.