Clay lakes
Up to the 1990s clay, gravel, and sand mining was an important industrial sector in the Teverener Heide. When the diggers finally left, they left behind huge excavation pits. In the areas that still contained clay layers insulating the ground, ponds and little lakes appeared. The reed beds and the waterside are an ideal habitat for the Reed Warbler, the Little Grebe, and numerous dragonfly species.
The hunters and the hunted
The Little Grebe depends on the reed bed at the watersides to build its nest as a swimming island of leaves and stalks. Grebes are excellent swimmers and divers and especially in winter hunt fish. However, their main diet consists of insects. Thus one also finds the larvae of the Northern Emerald on the Grebe's menu. The water plants and dense reeds around the ponds are an ideal location for this dragonfly to lay its eggs. Between May and August one can observe the hunting flights.
The waterside edges are a very fragile environment, so please do not walk there. Only frogs and Grebes are allowed to swim here!
