Water Supplies

Discussing a pond designed for black grouse broods on Moel Famau, North Wales

We have recently been in touch with several Heather Trust members and contacts who have been experimenting with ponds, flushes and wet areas on moorland in a bid to boost productivity and keep birds watered during the dry summer months. Many of these ponds are large enough to provide some valuable biodiversity and insect life, and also serve a useful function in the provision of water to fire crews in the event of wildfire.

These wet areas take a number of different forms, from single ploughed furrows to more substantial ponds of several square metres. Most commonly, the ponds are only small but they do potentially serve a very useful purpose for grouse, particularly hens with young chicks. Grouse chicks can travel several hundred metres to drink even at just a few days old, but the moorland manager needs to question whether or not he wants his vulnerable young birds to have to travel long distances when it is easily possible to lay on a good supply of water across the entire area of the moor by creating ponds or scrapes. This not only avoids possible issues with predation and exposure, but also prevents birds accumulating in quantity, which has been shown to be a driver behind some diseases.

Providing water for grouse is mainly a concern in the drier Eastern counties, but projects in Wales have found that using a wet scrape as a focal point for black grouse broods provides the opportunity to micro-manage breeding habitat, giving birds everything that they need in a concentrated area.

An issue with these pools is the depth required to produce water throughout the year. Even the shallowest scrape will collect water in November, but most puddles will be bone dry by June and July when they are most needed. This creates a tricky problem for the manager, since the pond needs to be deep enough to hold water in even the driest conditions, but also small and shallow-sided enough that it will not become an eyesore and be responsible for drowned grouse chicks.

Whether made by ploughs, diggers or even the blade of an argocat, these new ponds generate a degree of controversy because they involve the physical movement of soil and peat on moorland that is often designated and carefully conserved. On balance, there are huge benefits to be gained by grouse, biodiversity and fire prevention from a network of small ponds, and the Heather Trust is interested to speak to any keepers, managers and members who have experimented with water provision on heather moorland.

Golden ringed dragonfly - 

keen on moorland pond networks