Awesome sight in pond yesterday

[SEKCOBRA]

Hi Guys
When I say awesome sight it probably would be a nightmare for most but its very exciting to me. I have a pond about 3000 to 3500 gallons. Eco style. 15 or so Koi and I put about 30 bullfrog tadpoles in that have now become frogs. Hyacinth's lilies and other plants. I'm a newbie to the pond life. I designed the shape and depth and background of the pond and had it built last October. I had some issues and doubts that the good people on this site helped me out with tremendously. Anyway I posted a few weeks ago that everything was settled down and pond is clear and plants are growing and fish are happy. Very happy with my pond. My goal was to have it be and look as natural as possible. I live on Long Island in a suburban neighborhood where everyone has a 70x100 plot and are all right next to each other. Yesterday I'm kneeling at the waters edge next to the bog area which is covered in hyacinth's when suddenly I here a frog croaking within a foot of me. Now I know a lot about reptiles and amphibians to know that a frog in that close proximity to a potential threat (me) would not give up his hiding spot. When I looked in the hyacinth's I saw a large garter snake had caught the frog. He then came up onto the rock next to me and began to eat the frog. Myself and my wife could not believe what we were seeing. It then went back into the hyacinth's and devoured the frog. Im guessing most of you reading this would be upset with this scene but for me it was very gratifying. I'm a amateur herpetologist. I had a business breeding exotic Australian and other pythons for 30 years. I love all things cold blooded. What I really loved about this is I have not seen a snake of any kind in my neighborhood since I moved here 18 years ago. To see the natural predator prey interaction in my backyard was incredible to me. I don't know where or how this snake found my pond but I'm glad he did. He could have been here for a while and just never saw him. Could be passing through. It just validates all the work and stress that I had early on with the pond. It tells me "we done good". Meaning that I'm glad I listened to all the advice I received here and stayed the course with the Eco pond. Love the idea that by building this pond I may have helped provide a little water and food source for what's left of nature in this urban environment. Where he goes to hibernate the winter away I have no clue but I hope he becomes a regular visitor.

 

[MitchM]

You've provided your local wildlife with some habitat.

 

[Jhn]

Glad to hear you are a happy with your pond, and it is doing well.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Guys
When I say awesome sight it probably would be a nightmare for most but its very exciting to me. I have a pond about 3000 to 3500 gallons. Eco style. 15 or so Koi and I put about 30 bullfrog tadpoles in that have now become frogs. Hyacinth's lilies and other plants. I'm a newbie to the pond life. I designed the shape and depth and background of the pond and had it built last October. I had some issues and doubts that the good people on this site helped me out with tremendously. Anyway I posted a few weeks ago that everything was settled down and pond is clear and plants are growing and fish are happy. Very happy with my pond. My goal was to have it be and look as natural as possible. I live on Long Island in a suburban neighborhood where everyone has a 70x100 plot and are all right next to each other. Yesterday I'm kneeling at the waters edge next to the bog area which is covered in hyacinth's when suddenly I here a frog croaking within a foot of me. Now I know a lot about reptiles and amphibians to know that a frog in that close proximity to a potential threat (me) would not give up his hiding spot. When I looked in the hyacinth's I saw a large garter snake had caught the frog. He then came up onto the rock next to me and began to eat the frog. Myself and my wife could not believe what we were seeing. It then went back into the hyacinth's and devoured the frog. Im guessing most of you reading this would be upset with this scene but for me it was very gratifying. I'm a amateur herpetologist. I had a business breeding exotic Australian and other pythons for 30 years. I love all things cold blooded. What I really loved about this is I have not seen a snake of any kind in my neighborhood since I moved here 18 years ago. To see the natural predator prey interaction in my backyard was incredible to me. I don't know where or how this snake found my pond but I'm glad he did. He could have been here for a while and just never saw him. Could be passing through. It just validates all the work and stress that I had early on with the pond. It tells me "we done good". Meaning that I'm glad I listened to all the advice I received here and stayed the course with the Eco pond. Love the idea that by building this pond I may have helped provide a little water and food source for what's left of nature in this urban environment. Where he goes to hibernate the winter away I have no clue but I hope he becomes a regular visitor.

Hi Secobra. That's a cool story. That is truly how wild animals get their food buy hunting other animals. They can't shop at a grocery like you and me. I live in an urban area too. I think it's very exciting for us urban people to see the wildlife a pond attracts. This year I had a wild parrot stop by my pond which was pretty exciting!

 

[Mmathis]

Fascinating! I love observing nature at work — as long as the victim isn’t one of my pets.

 

[Nick83]

I wish what i saw was a garter snake this morning but my unwelcome guest was wearing black yellow and red stripes and my ponnd is still under construction. I believe it is hiding under the crack of a railroad tie.

 

[SEKCOBRA]

That is awesome. Coral snake. That is a shy timid venomous snake. Very rare to get bit by one. They are rear fanged and basically have to chew on there prey to inject their venom. That is a beautiful snake.

 

[Nick83]

We don't usually see these and the diamond backs are more common in my neck of the woods but houses have been being built and pushing the wildlife out of their homes and with the soaking rain every day the predators are venturing out further for prey.

 

[Tara]

Considering you love snakes, I believe this scene played out in a perfect location. I'm glad you got to enjoy it, nothing gross about what happened, just nature doing it's thing.

 

[Grin4joy]

Wow, that is so cool! To think that all happened right in front of you. Nature balancing itself out

 

[SEKCOBRA]

It was a very cool moment. Have not seen him since but that's common with snakes. They usually curl up somewhere to digest the meal. Being cold blooded everything is much slower. So he may not hunt again for a while.

 

[Lisak1]

This is a story only a nature lover could love! I'm so happy to hear that your pond has become a source of joy and excitement for you! The small eco-systems we create in our yards can be an entire world for some of these small creatures. It is indeed gratifying to see life where before there was only just another yard.

 

[addy1]

Ponds are all about nature and what critters they bring into our lives. We have garter snakes, rat snakes, black snakes don't see them very often.

 

[j.w]

I always feel sorry for the eaten but then even the eaten get eaten eventually and so it goes. If they didn't eat each other they couldn't exist so I just get over it.............poor babies. Silly me