Remains of a pond

A few months ago I commented that a pond in Ham Common Woods had almost vanished and, unsurprisingly, it has now gone completely. The greenery suggest that this is a damp place, one of the very few remaining in the Woods, possibly the only one.

Reduced pond

When I posted a picture of this pond in Ham Common Woods in spring 24 I commented on how unusually wet the area was but now the story is the exact opposite. As we start the first very hot spell of the year the pond has all but disappeared and I had to get quite close to it to be sure that there was any of it left.

Ramp

When the island in Ham Common Pond was rebuilt two years ago I was concerned about how high the island stood above the water and it seems that others agreed and have installed a crude ramp to provide access to the island.

High and dry

The recently rebuilt island in the pond on Ham Common is looking very high and dry at the moment, the vegetation around the edge has died and it looks as though it sits too high in the water for the wildlife to access it easily.

I hope that the problem is just a result of the unusual rainfall pattern this year and that it looks in better health next year.

Night leak

While I walk at night quite a lot I do not take that many pictures then, for obvious reasons, but I took one of this leak on the north side of Ham Common because it might not have been there for very long. And it wasn't.

Barren island

I have not seen anyone working on the island in the pond on Ham Common for a while but I hope that more work is planned as it is looking very barren at the moment just as the vegetation around the pond is welcoming Spring.

High waters

The river has been high for long periods recently and elsewhere (e.g. Mortlake) I have had to take detours when walking along Thames Path. Locally the best place to observe the swollen river has been Teddington Footbridge.

The most obvious sign of the height of the water is that the Skiff Lock (on the far left) has all but disappeared under the water.

On the Teggigton side the water has crept up toward The Anglers making the bridge look even more impressive than usual.

Reinforcing the island

The ambition of the Ham Pond island restoration project is shown by the substantial metalwork installed to define the new extent of the island. It looks like a modest enlargement but the main point will be to provide some sort of permanence.

Working on Ham Pond

This is an early Work In Progress picture of Ham Ponds where all that has been done so far is some coppicing of the trees on the island.

The workers are dressed in black so are well disguised and the coppicing is not that obvious yet but I will be back over the next few weeks when I hope that the signs of the much overdue work will be more obvious.

Damp

Clifford Road has sprung a leak. It is not much of a leak but you can tell from the waves at the bottom of the picture that the water is flowing fairly briskly.

You can also just about see (you may need to zoom in) some blue pain on the grass at the far end which I presume is the marking for where work needs to be done.

Hunter's Pond is a pond

I have posted a couple of pictures of Hunter's Pond (between Ham House and the river) without any water in it so here is one where it is actually a pond. There was quite a bit of water in the area at the time helped by the reasonably high tide and, I suspect, some repairs to the sluice that controls the flow of water here.

It looks like a healthy wetland habitat to me and that is what the Thames Landscape Strategy Rewilding Arcadia project is trying to achieve.

Leaks

I have just spent a bit of time reporting some leaks to Thames Water, neither are very large but all leaks are wasting water and need to be fix, which they can only do if they know about them.

This one in Northweald Lane is the most annoying as Thames Water think they have just finished fixing a leak here. Last week there was a hole surrounded by barriers here while a leak was fixed only for water to reappear once the hole had been filled in again.

This leak is on the junction of Richmond Road and Tudor Drive.

Wild island

The little island in Ham Pond has changed over the years through both natural and human forces and at times it has looked quite barren, as in this example from 2014. This spring it is the opposite with a covering of thick vegetation. It is a healthier look.

Lake at Thames Young Mariners

The whole point of TYM is that it has a lake and this is the view along it from the main slipway towards Riverside Drive. The greenery on the unused parts of the site, on the left and at the far end, is an important part of the continuity of Ham Lands and the lake itself is another precious habitat.

A pond for toads

Several ponds have been created in the heart of Ham Common Woods to encourage toads to spawn there rather than crossing the ridiculously busy Church Road to get to Richmond Park. I hope that works and, if nothing else, the ponds provide a useful wet habitat for other wildlife and something else nice for walkers to enjoy while passing through.

Winter Pond

Of course Ham Pond looks its best in Summer but it can also be appreciated in Winter when the absence of vegetation reveals more of its shape and structure.

Green pond

The duck weed has hit Ham Pond with a vengeance. At first only this end of the pond was covered and the birds swam at the far end. Now the pond is covered and the birds are nowhere to be seen.

A clear view of Thames Young Mariners

I have taken several photos of Thames Young Mariners over the years but not one as clear as this before. Often the scrub in the foreground obstructs part of the view and moored boats some of the rest. While I like the boats it was nice to get a clear view of the pontoon for a change.

Ham Pond (Summer 2014)

I have taken lots of photos of Ham Pond over the years but a couple more will not hurt as it is a little different each time I pass by and it is always pretty.

This time the area around the pond was looking especially green and healthy. It had not been a particularly wet Summer but it had not been that dry either and the vegetarian had done well in those conditions.

High water on Ham Pond

The recently extended island in Ham Pond is suffering in the wettest recorded Winter that we have had. The banks and the posts there to protect them are now submerged and the nesting sites that the island was meant to provide have been lost.

I presume that the water will drain away before too long and it will be interesting to see what state the island is in when it does.