Otters in snow

heidi08 New Species December 13, 2009

Sutter Creek Beavers Busy Again

heidi08 Uncategorized December 12, 2009

A couple years back we noticed a beaver dam on Sutter Creek on the way to my parents house. Imagine beavers mining gold dust and using it to pack mud on their dams. Prospector beavers. We can’t get any closer than the road because its fiercely held private land, so we don’t know where the lodge is. The dam has had some horrible years, when its cut out and we think the beavers are gone or dead. But its back again, holding a solid pond that’s deep enough (but not too) deep.

The town is still sprinkled with snow patches, more so than usual. The low snow we had that dusted the hills in Lafayette and Orinda and coated the very base of Mt. Diablo, covered the foothills too. My parents, at 3700 feet, had 18 inches in a day. I missed the grand display, and only got to come for the melting.

I’m very jealous of missing out on watching how beavers manage snow and ice. Hope Ryden’s descriptions of beavers breaking ice to keep passage open is fascinating to read, and I would love to see it up close. She also describes the bubbles of beaver breath layered under the ice, which is delightful to think about. Bob Arnebeck wrote me recently that his New York beavers are already under ice. I wish I could find some snowy beavers. Maybe some right outside the window of a very warm lodge.

The other thing I’m jealous of in this weather is something I read about in a science paper once. In very cold weather, say 20 below, your standard ordinary soap bubble behaves differently. It rises from the warmth of your breath, and sometimes forms a strange plastic-like unpopping surface. But my favorite fact is this: Some soap bubbles will actually make a noise when they pop, like the tinkle of breaking glass. Now in order to try this neat trick you need to keep your bubble mix in a thermos and hope it doesn’t freeze before you blow a stream of perfect bubbles. Then wait very quiet and listen.

Mysteries at the dam-let

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver News, Friends of Martinez Beavers May 28, 2010

My my my. We are getting more curious every day what kind of beaver developments are going on at the little tulle dam next to the footbridge. The purpose of the dam is obviously access to a deeper channel so the beavers can swim in safety to a remaining tulle stand in the corner near the amtrak parkinglot. They have clearly been digging trenches of mud so that the sometimes shallow water would cover them, and using the mud to build the dam-let. I’m happy to see that because when we lowered the dam by three feet I sometimes worried the water wouldn’t be deep enough for them to feel safe or get around. I always hoped they were digging passage ways to make the water deeper, and no one can complain about that.

This new channel is all about tulles and the dam-let protects it. Remember the little hole that dad dug through the birm into the scrape last summer? We never saw it used, but knew it was there for a reason. Now it leads to the dam-let and the channel and the beavers have expanded their territory by several square feet.

Which leaves the mystery of scenting to account for. Now scenting is essential beaver behavior, and the reason for those precious Castoreum glands that the horrible video yesterday showed perfume industries pirating. Scent marks can say “I am here” or “leave me alone” or “can I buy you a leaf?”. On several occasions a large beaver has been seen marking the dam-let as if he’s scenting. We wondered before if this were dad, but now we know it was a yearling engaging in the practice. Maybe he’s “practicing” for when he gets a place of his own. Or helping the family keep unwanted beavers away. Or just imitating what he saw Dad do. But I like to think of it as “pre-mating”. He’s telling the world who he is and what he has to offer, in the hopes of attracting some lucky beaver of his dreams. The imagined other would still need to take off with him in search of new territory, but its much easier to start out adult life with a partner.

Brave souls who can stand the cold might toddle down in the dark for a glimpse of the mystery in progress. Our friend at Allied Waste who wanted to donate blankets to the homeless as a thankyou for “keeping an eye on the beavers” just dropped off a lovely bundle yesterday and Cheryl helped them get distributed. Maybe they’ll share!

Best of times/Worst of times

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, In the News, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 10, 2010

The beaver friend who went to med school at North Western has been closely following the fate of the Illinois Lincoln Park beaver and now connected with a current med student who also happens to be a beaver fan. She recently took this photo and put it on wikipedia to highlight the plight of the urban beaver.

Along with the judiciously chosen quote.

	Few sightings of wild animals in Lincoln Park have caused as much excitement as when a beaver was spotted swimming across the middle of North Pond one winter day. Being a creature more associated with wilderness streams and rivers a beaver inside the city limits was unusual indeed.	”
	— Scott Holingue, Tales from an Urban Wilderness, 1994

The prescription for those beavers is obviously “take two physicians and call me in the morning.” I’m hoping for good things for the Lincoln Park Beavers.

From the ‘worst of times category’ I offer this recent news report about the resurgence of the use of Castoreum in French perfume. (Not for the faint of heart)

‘The Gifts we are Given”

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere December 9, 2009

We’ve been working on so many beaver stories lately around the nation that I thought I’d give you an little update on our out-of-state friends.

New Jersey: Franklin Lakes, Franklin Swamp

Remember beaver friend Gail wrote me that the home owners in Franklin Lakes were upset with the rising water and had asked the city to bring in the beaver killers? Well she was able to get HSUS to assign Heather Cammisa on the case and that resulted in Laura Simon having a long receptive conversation yesterday with the mayor yesterday. She wrote last night:

I spoke to Mayor Maura DeNicola for a long time and was surprised at how supportive she was. She thanked me for contacting her and expressed how she truly wants a humane solution for this issue. Sounds like a 40 inch culvert (in need of replacement) is the main source of the problem, along with some tree felling. Several irate homeowners are trying to hire a trapper on their own but she is willing to contact them to discuss trying a different kind of solution, if the Council approves.

I’m putting together info for her right now since there’s a Council meeting tonight, and she will be discussing this issue –and our recommended solution. I told her we’d be happy to do a site assessment, give an estimate, and also give a more formal presentation if desired.

Hmmm….that sounds promising, but Gail is worried about the homeowners hiring their own “gun”. Notes from the council meeting aren’t up yet. Apparently another friend sent this letter to the editor of the local paper:

In your November 25, 2009 issue of the “Villadom Times”, you feature an article about a Beaver Colony in Franklin Lakes, and the intention of the town to have them trapped and killed. As someone who lives on the water, I can understand the frustration of the surrounding neighbors, who live on the perimeter of the Town Swamp. However, killing is rarely the answer, and there is a far more humane and educationally positive way to deal with this lovely little family.

Franklin Lakes has prided itself on it’s abundance of fresh water areas; including swamps, lakes, ponds and fens. With these natural areas, come responsibilities and challenges, as they need to be preserved and cherished for the next generation. According to various Beaver experts, there is only one way in which the water table should be dealt with, and that’s with a Beaver Flow device. These devices have been in place in some states for as long as 20 years, and have been successful. According to the Humane Society, positive results were achieved and 94% of the people said that they would recommend it to other towns. Flow device success rates were observed at 97% for culvert devices. Trapping and killing had a failure rate of 84%; due to the fact that the sites were re-colonized, some within one year of intervention.

Beavers are considered to be “keystone species”, because they create a habitat that is beneficial to many other areas in the affected ecosystem. Their dams actually act as a filter as it slows the water flow, which allows for sediments and toxic material to filter through the pond bed. This is not only beneficial to the aquatic environment, but one is looking at a tremendous educational tool for the local school children. Very few students have the ability to come and study these industrious families, and learn from them in their own backyards. This is an opportunity for the entire town, to experience nature at it’s finest. These animals should be valued and protected; not killed.

Dave Mallet wrote some great lyrics about the environment. One which comes to mind is: “Some will still weep, when the gifts we are given are gone”. This family is a gift, and Franklin Lakes needs to protect them for the future of Franklin Lakes.

Respectfully, Elizabeth Butler

Tomorrow I’ll update you on Illinois and Connecticut beavers.