You can make a pond any size (up to 2 hectares, then it becomes a lake!), depending on how much space you have. If you have lots of space, why not make a complex of many smaller ponds, rather that one large one. This will provide more of a variety of habitats for wildlife.
But ponds don't have to be large or deep. Even the smallest pond will attract wildlife.
Shallow edges are good
When making your pond, try to make the slope of the sides quite shallow, to make sure there is some shallow water round the edge. The widest range of pond animals are found in water only a few centimetres deep - less than the height of a match box.
Try to make sure that your pond has plenty of shallow areas around the edges.
Bare mud is good too!
The level of water in your pond will naturally change between a high level in winter when there is (normally) more rain and a lower level in summer, when there is (normally) less rain. This band between the high and low water levels is called the 'drawdown zone'.
Lower water in the summer can expose bare mud at the sides. This is good! Although you might think it doesn't look very nice, this mud is a haven for big and small animals.
Dragonflies, like the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cynea) lay their eggs in the damp exposed mud at the edge of the pond. The pond edge is also used by snails, spiders, fast-running ground beetles and shore bugs.
It can also be used by wading birds and small mammals such as shrews like it because they can catch insects that are trapped in the mud.
