Want ducks in my pond

[MossRoad]

Ill still argue it is probably a combination. Normal rains bring in silt. Plants grow up in shallow edges, and causes more gunk to accumulate. Never seen a lake with no water running in.

I didn't say there's no silt running in. There is with rain, I'm sure. But there's no streams coming into these lakes. The majority of the cause is plant life decaying, falling to the bottom, and raising the bottom level of the lake/pond.

 

[ning]

This picture, from here:
Ecological succession - Wikipedia

explains it pretty well. Note the cattails.

View attachment 583565

you've been spying on my pond!