Going to the city to see Wildlife

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental November 21, 2012

Martinez knows all about that phenomenon right?

A birding irony

Despite Vermont’s plentiful habitats, getting up close and personal with Wood Ducks is difficult

Here is the irony: when I want to get up close and personal with the Wood Duck, I go to a large city park in a big city: the Wissahickon in northwest Philadelphia. I hear planes high overhead. I hear a distant rumble of buses from the busy avenue. I also hear the rattle of the kingfisher, the quacking of the Mallards, the drumming of woodpeckers, and the whistle of the Wood Duck. And I come home with dozens of images of a bird which doesn’t look quite real.

Chris Petrak’s lovely introduction to this ornate bird concerns us for two reasons. One because the dedicated creation of duck boxes to lure them into urban settings has been the life’s work of our very good friend Brian Murphy of Walnut Creek Openspace who knows where they nest in Broadway Plaza and San Ramon and was one of our only displays at the very first beaver festival and has been with us every year since.

And two because of this excellent paragraph:

With the return of the forests in Vermont, and with beaver ponds scattered through our hills and valleys, the Wood Duck has made a significant recovery in our state. It is a cavity nester, using holes in large, partially rotting trees, or which have been excavated by pileated woodpeckers. Humans have helped significantly by providing artificial cavities in the form of Wood Duck nest boxes.

Perfect! Because a happy wood duck loves nothing so much as a brooding beaver pond and where you find one you will almost certainly locate the other. Mitchell the eagle scout installed several duck boxes along the creek but they have sadly been unused as yet. Perhaps because the water content is too salty for these birds below the secondary dam? We may yet have some other obligate nester use them, like the estuary-appreciating common merganser.

Still nicely done for Skip Lisle’s home state to recognize that tolerating more beavers means enjoying more wood ducks!

One thing leads to another…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere November 20, 2012

Beaver knocks out power in Linacy

LINACY – A busy beaver was the cause of a power outage in Linacy last night when the animal chewed through a tree.

David Rodenhiser, spokesman for Nova Scotia Power confirmed that a beaver chewed through a tree, causing it to fall and take out a power line.He said it’s “fairly rare” that the power company deals with outages caused by a beaver’s tree chomping tendencies

He said 175 customers were affected by the outage, which lasted from just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday to about 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Where on earth is Linacy you ask? And how can they possibly keep spending money to paint over the young vandals that change that suggestively wrong vowel?

It’s an unincorporated area of Nova Scotia. So no signs. Think “Shipping News” with beavers.

It could happen to you…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental November 19, 2012

Remember the beavers in Amherst New York that were chewing down memorial trees? They city voted to kill them (of course) and brought in the DEC who accidentally reported in front of a news camera that conibear traps drown the beaver. (I’m quite sure that his second day of ranger school he was told to never, never say that even if its true.) As a result tons of concerned folks poured into the city meeting and saved the day. Volunteers would wrap the trees and beavers wouldn’t be killed.

For Now.

Apparently it turns out that those selfish beavers still want to feed their families throughout the frozen winter and they think your ornamental birch would help nicely, thank you very much. Having a tree removed from your front yard apparently makes reasonable home owners postal because this lovely woman can’t see how her lawn’s rights aren’t worth an animals life. Go figure.

Never mind that there are volunteers that would have wrapped that tree for you if you picked up the phone and asked. I’m guessing you have WIVB on speed dial so its much easier to call them and whine about the damage than it is to bother and prevent it.

I’ve already heard from one of the volunteers this morning reminding the highway superintendent that they can help protect trees and that spending time wiping out beaver dams is not a very good use of public funds. Sharon and Owen Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife went out and toured the area personally, telling folks what steps to take. I guess they must have known that beavers cut down trees but they never thought they’d cut down THEIR trees.

You never think it will happen to you.

‘All I did was doubt that

You would eat my tree

and it happened to me“

Your Tax Dollars At Work

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now? November 18, 2012

Mississippi is very alarmed to learn that Uncle Sam will only cover half the costs of beaver management this year. Lazy feds. Interested counties are going to have to come up with the other half themselves. I guess it won’t cost that much. I mean what kind of beaver management do they use? Flow devices? Culvert protection? Relocation? Immunocontraception?

Mississippi’s Beaver Control Assistance Program, which routinely uses explosives to remove beaver dams that flood properties.

That’s right, they blow up dams to control flooding. How fun! Bring the kids! No word yet on whether they noticed that beavers don’t actually LIVE IN the dam and simply rebuild them with all that debris lying around afterwards. I mean I suppose they could wait until all the beavers were ON the dam and then blow them up but that’s pretty rare, and would require a lot of impulse control, which I’m doubting there’s much of. It would at least be accomplish something though.

Financial changes in beaver control leave county with costs

WEST POINT — Dozens of landowners in Clay County can attest to problems with beavers affecting their property, and several roads, bridges and other properties in the county over the years also have borne their share of beaver damage.

Last September, the Clay County Board of Supervisors voted to participate in Mississippi’s Beaver Control Assistance Program, which routinely uses explosives to remove beaver dams that flood properties.

Okay. I agree. A big dose of Mississippi beaver stupid is a soul-less way to start the morning. But trust me. This next quote is going to make it all worth while. It’s going to make everything fall in place and put a smile on your face every time you think of it. You think I exaggerate? This quote is awe-inspiring in a way Alabama and Arkansas can only dream of. Trust me.

Johnny Carter, wildlife/explosives specialist for Wildlife Services, provides beaver control services to Clay County.ec

Because in Clay County, Wildlife and explosives just go together. Like peanut butter and jelly. Or handguns and house guests. Identify the critters. Blow up the critters. Obviously you need someone who is trained in both. And look no farther than Wildlife Services to do the trick.

This is apparently Mississippi’s idea of a double major.

__________________________________________________

November portrays rhythm of life

The “Hunter’s Moon” wanes, the nights become longer, the mornings frostier. Now comes the “Beaver Moon”

It is also a time of preparation and challenge. Among Native Americans it was traditionally called the “Beaver Moon” because it was the time when the beavers, wise in the ways of seasons, had grown their fur thick and full. They had finished and reinforced their dams, and had their houses well-caulked and full of a winter’s supply of food. Beavers knew what November meant.

They still do. November arrives as it has always arrived, and means what it has always meant, a vital part of the circle of a year, and the rhythm of life.

Douglas Wood is a naturalist, musician, and author of 30 books for children and adults. He writes for Our Woods & Waters on the third Sunday of each month

Beavers on the move…

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions November 17, 2012

City of London’s beavers come to Aspen

It’s the winter of the beaver at Aspen Valley.

Just as we thought we’d entered our fall slowdown, managing director Howard Smith was contacted regarding the possible capture of a beaver family located in a municipal drain in the City of London, Ontario. Beavers there have been very active, creating ecosystem changes that many people are concerned about. In response to community concerns, Bonnie Bergsma, ecologist planner for the City of London, has begun to work with a sub-committee of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee of council, to prepare a wildlife strategy for the city, with an early emphasis on developing protocols for beaver.

Traditionally, when city officials encountered what were considered to be “nuisance” beavers, they would hire someone to trap and kill them. But some of the more progressive cities, such as London, have determined that they would much prefer a non-lethal solution to beaver management. Of course, this presents a problem in some different areas. Number one – it is not easy to capture beavers and a lot of patience is involved in waiting for them to enter the humane trap set to catch them. Number two – the animals need to be taken to a spot not already occupied by other beavers (they are territorial and will battle it out). And, thirdly, it is only a matter of time before another beaver family moves into what they consider an ideal spot to dam and build dens, unless measures are taken to discourage this movement.

If you’re thinking that the beaver news from the Aspen Valley Sanctuary is too good to be true, remember that it was founded by the author of this book, who was the first woman to raise and release orphan beavers successfully. She has definitely made sure the center is imbued at every level with a positive beaver message!