About 5 minutes walk from our school and close to the local shops, there 
is a natural pond called Quinton Pool. The water comes from an 
underground spring and the pond is popular with bird life. Our class of  8  
to  10  year   olds visited  the  pond  and  here   is   our   essay. 

In the middle of Quinton Pool 
stands a shadowy, muddy
island. The   island   is  an   
oval    shape   and   in   the    
centre    is  a  large  willow  
tree. The  Island is not very 
big, but quite crowded with 
ducks and geese. Surronding 
the island is a great pool of 
water.There is no grass on 
the island, it is just a hard
brown surface and in the winter 
it becomes soft and muddy.
There are reeds on the banks 
of the island and around the pool 
edge. The drooping branches of 
the willow tree rustle where the ducks nest and sleep. The Island is packed 
with grey,  white and other colourful feathery ducks,  geese and swans. It 
also makes a good breeding area.



The  swans and their  baby  cygnets  on  the  island. 

It is like having a world just for ducks under the gentle, blue sky .The 
ducks like to have a quiet peaceful snooze  under  the willow tree. The 
sun  reflects on the swans , gleaming feathers as they sleep in the 
daytime. The quite calm water is often disturbed by squabbling, fighting 
ducks. The  swans  protect   their    babies. There are also coots and 
mallards on the pond. Coots are small , black ducks with a white forehead. 
Mallards are brown with green heads, although the females are all brown.

 
The  birds   flap  their  wings  
in  the  cool  breeze. The 
elegant swans enjoy 
swimming on the rippling, 
shining pond.  The swans 
and the ducks swim quietly 
and gently in  the cold , 
deep water. We  watched 
some swans  gracefully 
gliding and racing around
the pool, then swooping 
down and landing on the 
calm water. The birds' 
droppings covering the 
grass,  stuck to the soles of our 
shoes.    

   
Lots of people and children come to feed bread to the ducks. We 
watched a friendly man who was feeding the birds with some bread. 
As  the man  was feeding  the geese and ducks   they   kept on crowding  
around  him . Little greedy ducks pleaded for their damp bread. The 
water gently  ripples beneath  the paddling ducks  that slowly drift  
through the pond. The water is very dirty because people drop rubbish
into the water. The fish are waggling their tails looking for food, the 
swans, geese and ducks love the pond and spend most of the day 
there. The ducks skid and slide when they enter the water, then take 
off again from the  sloped bank.

By Class 15

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