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small wildlife pond but not much wildlife?
Wonder if anyone can offer a bit of advice. Last year I made a container wildlife pond using a sealed plastic container 60 cm depth. I sunk it in the ground added a mix of plants. Then planted round it. There's no fish in it but three happy pond snails. Apart from that zilch. Years ago my mum lived in the house I'm in now and had a small pond dug out. Didn't take long before it was teaming with frogs and toads that turned up on their own. My wildlife container not a sausage??? Not sure wether to take out the container and fill the hole with a pond liner making the hole wider with a small shallow area or be a little more patient ( I struggle with patience 
) any tips welcome
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It had frogs in last year, its full of snails and bugs.
How about go to your local pond and bring back a litre of water or some vegetation? That will seed your puddle.
Thought about that but feel like I'm cheating haha, reading all the articles on wildlife ponds they make out that once you pop one in voila amphibians from all over flock to your container. I'm really tempted to pull the container out the existing hole pop in a liner then transfer the contents?? Or stick with the container?
Keep as much of the old water as possible and any soil .
You might be surprised by what you find amongst the plants.
We had a preformed wildlife pond in the 80's.
It was full of newts and toads and frogs and dragonfly.
But times have changed, I wonder how much wildlife we've lost since- as a country
Do you see frogs in the garden?
Maybe the local populations have moved on if there aren't enough environments for them.
I'm sure frogs and other things return to their birth ponds. Must be devastating when they can't find them anymore.
Is there access for them daisy? If it's 60 cm deep they can't get in and out easily. Getting a few logs, bricks or even a piece of timber will help, but I think it's better to dig out a bigger area which has different levels and a sloping 'beach' for creatures to get in there and use the water. Birds will drink and bathe in the shallows, frogs can get in and lay spawn and insects can also get a suitable depth of water for egg laying
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks for information. I've decided to make it bigger but have a beach/shallow area as I think access is an issue as the pond snails appear to be thriving. I,'ll keep the water (it filled with rain water to begin) and the few plants that are growing already along with adding more. Hopefully this will work? We've had toads near compost bin in the past so fingers crossed
daisy - if you want to keep the container, there's no reason why you can't add a little area next to it with a liner. Some planting in between to disguise the 'join' and you'll have the best of both worlds. I'd still make sure you have access to the deep bit as creatures can fall in and not get back out. Toads will prefer a bit of shallower water to get into.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
As it's plastic it maybe slippy so I could take it out make a shallow area near the existing hole then sink a pond liner in (as my all knowing father keeps telling me do the job properly and why would any self respecting frog want to live in a "bucket"
hate it when he's right!! Oh well pond liner it is
Thanks for all the advice though, I've got to admit that it's a correct saying "listen to your elders"
can things get into your garden from elsewhere, if you have fencing that goes down to the floor can you make gaps for stuff to get in?
Yeah there's plenty of access under fences I think it's the access in and out the pond that maybe the problem. I've got bricks in it at different heights but I still think they aren't high enough for creatures to get out. My partner also put a decorative stone edging round the pond which covers over the plastic edging this I think is also an issue. I think it's back to the drawing board and make some changes. I'd really like it to work as the rest of the garden is planted up to attract wildlife, the "bucket" as my dad calls the pond doesn't seem to be working?
I'm with Fairygirl on this- I think that you could just make it more accessible. Besides, just because you don't see heads popping up and own in the Great Bucket to a chorus of "Ribbit!" does not mean that you don't have toads, which only want access to the moisture and use the water to lay eggs but live under cover. Structures like these would be more conducive (if you do not already have them): https://uk.pinterest.com/ejone746/christmas-gift-ideas/ Toads and most frogs actually spend most of their lives out of water.
Apparently it is also a bad idea to introduce frog-spawn or tadpoles as they will either migrate away or die if the ecosystem does not contain enough food, the temperature is wrong, etc. I looked into making a sunken tub pond on my allotment but will wait for another year or so. Good luck.