Do the Honey Bee!

heidi08 Friends of Martinez Beavers April 6, 2010

Our beaver historian Rick sent this video, made with the skills of two of his five sons, one of whom was an avid bee-keeper before going off to college. I’m thinking beaver rap?

Georgia Stewards

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 10, 2010

Maybe you remember the horrific news report from Berriens County Georgia about the “pied piper” solution to get rid of the beaver problems by having a”kill contest” for the most tails cut off. After writing everyone I could think of, I eventually hit upon a solution that settled my heart. I decided the original artwork from earthday 2008 needed to be in the hands of the short-sighted commissioners. I also wanted it to come from one of their own people. Luckily I have a friend of a friend in the state, and was able to send her the pictures and have her send them to the commissioners.

Not surprisingly, the commissioners never wrote us back, but the friend sent this issue of the Spring Newsletter of Georgia Forest Watch, which, surprise surprise! Has an article all about the value of beavers in the watershed! In my very demanding opinion its a woeful undersell of beaver benefits and doesn’t say enough about birds and wildlife, but being as it comes from the very state that recently reduced me to tears, I admit I couldn’t be happier! I dropped them a line of thanks and encourage you all to do the same. Maybe it’s time for a new bumper sticker: Friends don’t let friends kill beavers.

In praise of Castor Canadensis,

the ever-industrious North American Beaver

Finally, it is worth noting that beaver work for free and can assist
forest managers to attain specific wildlife goals in an age of tight
budgets. The active management approach to forest restoration
can benefit from embracing the primary ecological role of beavers
across the public landscape, gaining the many benefits of this
remarkable creature at an economic savings to the taxpayer. A win
for beaver and human.

Darren Wolfgang: Staff Ecologist Forest Watch

It’s a nice introduction to some ideas Martinez has a lot of familiarity with! I sent them information about Mike’s upcoming DVD as well, so they can add to their list of solutions. Go check it out. Its delightful to know that there are thoughtful and compassionate watershed, wildlife and forestry stewards all across the country. Sometimes, when you read too much about the ‘beaver-killing-fields’, it’s easy to forget that.

It had to happen…

heidi08 Uncategorized April 5, 2010

Ahhh some things are impossible to avoid. Saw mom this morning carrying her traditional stick at 7:15. Also two muskrats and some very amorous ducks. Have an excellent sunday!

“Kent Hoyt”

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere April 3, 2010

The weirdly addictive radio program Car Talk used to have a plug for their chicken soup division maintained by “Kent Hoyt”, which, along with their Russian chauffeur “Pikopp Andropoff’ and their legal defense team “Dewey, Cheatem & Howe” always made me laugh aloud.

Well yesterday was time for a little ‘Kent Hoyt’ strategy. I was asked to come down to the tiles and film a “thank you” for all the financial support Shell has given to Martinez over the years. With no irony whatsoever and my best foot firmly forward I went down to thank them for their help with the beaver festival and the tree planting. Several beaver friends were there, as well as the mayor and a certain well-sheetpiled property owner. They were all forced to acknowledge how lovely the tiles were, which I greatly enjoyed.

Then, with my ears still hot from the excitement of being filmed twice and asked to “shorten it up”, I drove home and got a lovely card from the wife of MW. Long time readers of this blog might remember the attorney that represented the Friends of Lake Skinner beavers many years ago, and won a challenge at the appellate level that resulted in the bad guys paying the good guys attorneys fees to the tune of 50,000 dollars. The heart of the suit was that beavers had such a huge role in the environment that killing them without an environmental impact report violated CEQA. Anyway, he wrote our mayor a cautionary letter very early on, and we became friends. Yesterday he and his wife made a very generous donation to the beaver festival, which made my ears all hot again.

Thanks so much, I promise it will go towards something very, very special!

Ghostly visitors

heidi08 New Species April 2, 2010

Tyto Alba came to my house last night…

When I got home from work at 8:30 there was a familiar “click click click” sound coming from overhead. I recognized it as being a barn own echolocating and glanced up. Barn owls have asymmetrical ear placement and can locate their dinner entirely without the use of sight. They are enormously widespread across the globe, and its thought that they eat more rodents in a single night than any other animal!

Nothing to see at first. I took my briefcase out of the car, still looking up. ‘click click click!’ The sound came closer, closer. And then a burst of white like a flapping cloud as the barn owl flew over my home and yard. Beautiful to see. We used to have owls every night until the habitat in the video above was senselessly destroyed by tree shaving. Sigh. I’m always happy when we get a sighting now.

Click Click Click. He circled back, coming closer. Then a heron-sounding squawk, or maybe a screech, sounded from the bushes right where I was standing. The clicking came closer, and the screech rose in a white plume of feathers and became another barn owl! Taking flight right from my bushes! And they clicked and screeched to each other, gaining altitude, sky dancing in the darkness above me. It was breath taking!

Let’s hope the clicking and circling was the fella saying “I have a great place to nest, baby, follow me!” And the rising screech was his intended saying, “I guess you’re kinda cute.” And they’re going to raise lovely feathered babies right near my house (or your house) soon!