Category: Beaver Behavior

Riverlords! I like it!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 6, 2017

The Germans are tired of the UK having all the good beaver stories. They want some of their own to talk about why beavers matter. Hence this report from DW, which was also published under the headline; “Beavers on the Rampage“. Go figure.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers

When it comes to erecting remarkable structures, few animals are as talented architects as beavers. Almost hunted to extinction in Europe, the creatures are now bouncing back. Few animals create such impressive structures or alter their environment so dramatically as the beaver. Few, except for humankind.

“Beavers are like the architects of our waterways,” says of Iris Barthel of German conservation group Nabu. “They build dams, burrow, gnaw and fell trees and shrubs. In this way, beavers have shaped our riverscapes for millions of years.”

But despite – and sometimes because of – a shared propensity for reshaping the landscape, humans and beavers don’t always make good neighbors.

“The beavers aren’t aware of property ownership. They see the riverbank as a place they can dig their burrow,” says Barthel. “They see tasty food in fields or orchards. So it can happen that a tractor breaks a beaver lodge or a beaver fells a favorite apple tree.”

She adds that beavers have been accused of burrowing into dams and dikes, disrupting manmade flood defences, but says there are well-practiced defenses against this kind of damage.

“If beavers are pilloried by politicians, it’s primarily to distract from their own failures in flood prevention,” says Barthel.

Lords of the Rivers! I like it. Shorter than Lord of the Rings and less stompy than Lords of the Dance! I love that last line. It’s true, that the first thing cities do after their culverts fail is blame beavers. And power companies when their service fails. And internet companies when their cables go out. (And fisherman when whatever). Often without any reason. Take Mountain House for instance, built out of landfill and roadways eroding. They ripped out the real creek to make room for a planned one. They are sure beavers excavated large cavernous tunnels that sucked their precious pavement into sink holes. Or at least that’s what they alleged until they got challenged.

Biologist Jessica Dieckmann told DW that part of her role as newly-appointed commissioner on beavers for the German city of Hamm was to help deal with conflicts arising between homeowners and their beaver neighbors.

She explained that because injuring or killing beavers or damaging their dams and burrows is forbidden in German, “a solution has to be found tactfully.”

“A solution could be that landowners sell a 20-meter-wide (66-foot-wide) riparian strip and make it available for nature protection,” says Dieckmann.

Her other tasks as beaver commissioner include finding out whereabouts beavers are in Hamm and how many there are, to know how best to deal with the creatures in the future.

Beavers usually live in burrows in the river bank accessed by an underwater tunnel. The dam ensures the water is deep enough to hide the entrance to their “lodge” beneath the surface.

But while human construction often runs at complete odds with the needs of other living species, beaver dams bring benefits to a whole host of other species.

“They create small ponds, deadwood, marsh areas or open up areas of soil,” says Barthel. These provide habitats for dragonflies, amphibians and reptiles, for fish and birds. “Where humans have to spend a lot of money on preserving biodiversity, the beaver helps out for free.”

“At the same time, it contributes to the cleanliness of water, re-natures rivers and supports natural flood prevention.”

Capture — The editors at DW think this is a beaver. But it’s NOT. This is a nutria (Or coypu Myocastor coypus). It’s BAD for the environment and the UNbeaver

Hurray! We love Jessica and Iris. There are smart beaver thinkers in Germany, and some of them are coming to the State if the Beaver Conference at the end of the month. The language and knowledge has taken root on foreign soil. Or maybe started there and is taken root on American soil. I don’t care who gets the credit. I just care that we all get the knowledge.

Oh, and that papers stop running THIS photo and pretending to believe it’s a beaver. You can even see the TAIL in the back. And look at those nostrils and white whiskers! What’s the matter with you?

Sheesh!

Planting Swords into Plowshares – Willow Version

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver Chewing, Beavers, Beavers and Forests, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 5, 2017

Only good news on Sunday’s right? Well, yesterday’s planting party surely applies. 14 people showed up from Martinez, Napa, and Oakland and Berkeley to put some magical willow cuttings in the banks of Alhambra Creek. (I say magical because at the right time of year willow can be cut from trees and turned back into trees. Imagine that!)The willow was trimmed from our own prodigious trees downstream and hauled back to be bundled into fascines or trimmed into stakes. The fascines were lovingly layed in trenches and staked in place. Study lone stakes were tapped into rain soaked soil where they will sprout. They planted at both Henrietta and Escobar streets. Everyone felt the conditions were ideal for an excellent planting. Ann Riley from the SF waterboard is always an outstanding teacher and Friends of Alhambra Creek Volunteers turned out to hear what she would say. As you can see, Cheryl was on hand to snap some wonderful photos of the moment. And you might recognize beaver-inventer Bob Rust even without his beaver bicycle! But if you need reminding, check the video below. Here’s Riley showing how a fascine is laid in trenches. Afterwards most of the folks came to try out the wrap sandwiches and they must have been adequate because they were gone! All in all it was an excellent way to spend Saturday morning. I happen to be very fond of this lovely close-up of Riley and Jean bundling. I like to imagine they are wrapping very delicious beaver Christmas presents. Good work team beaver!

This week’s mail delivered a bevvy of beaver bounty for the silent auction. Starting with an adorable sterling silver beaver necklace from “Stickman Jewelry” in Montreal, Canada. The charm itself is even cuter because it is so tiny. I anticipate rabid bidding on this cherishable trinket so start saving your pennies now.

The other glories came from artist Deborah Hocking in Portland. I didn’t even realize she was the brilliant artist behind the children’s book “Build beaver build.” I just really, really liked this print she was selling on etsy.

I wrote her about the beaver bicycle Bob Rust made for our festival and she was immediately hooked. She ended up donating 8 prints and a copy of her book! She might even design something for the festival! Sometimes the best part of asking isn’t the things you get, but remembering that there are like minds all over the globe.

Team Beaver and Friends

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers, stupid solutions February 4, 2017

Our beaver gang is teaming up with the Watershed Steward interns, Friends of Alhambra Creek, the SF waterboard and the assistant city engineer this morning to plant willow cuttings along the creek under the guidance of creek wizardess Ann Riley. We’re hoping the rain waits kindly until they’re done. Cheryl will be there capturing it all on film and my contribution is making wrap sandwiches to feed the troops when they’re finished. I’m not mentioning this to the city but of course I’m hoping that the juicy delectable new shoots that grow encourage our beavers to show their furry faces again soon. Fingers crossed!

The saplings form our last guerilla planting are doing very well!

Yesterday I was contacted by children’s author Susan Wood who was publishing a book on the parachuting beavers which she said would include a link to our website for information about the animals. The book was coming out in April and a website was being launched to promote it. She wondered if the education resources section on the site might include links to our teacher’s activities as well?

First, we are always flattered and pleased that our site is useful to anyone. And of course beaver education is near and dear to our hearts. But another book on this particular subject? I guess folks just LOVE the idea of throwing beaver out of planes.

I told the author that I appreciated the contact and the mentions and she was welcome to link to our site. I also asked for a signed copy for the silent action. Here we are on their educational resource page. I’ve been doing this so long that I didn’t even remember designing the “beaver catcher” until I checked the site. Sometimes my enthusiasm surprises even me.

This is the second children’s book covering the topic. The first was was published last year by our beaver friend Jennifer Lovett and called “Beavers Away!” I guess we should brace ourselves for a beaver-flinging story every year! Maybe they’ll be a whole library shelf dedicated to them. I’ve politely told both authors it is NOT our favorite topic and have been assured the books make it clear that throwing animals from the air is not encouraged.

Hrmph. I also made sure both authors saw this:

Beaver Show and Tail

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver Behavior, Beaver Conference, Beavers, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? February 2, 2017

There is too much beaver news this morning. I feel like I’m struggling under a pile of important papers trying to get out. I will use the calendar as my only excavation tool, and start with what’s happening first. The other things can wait. Except for the serious cause for mocking, which obviously cannot be ignored.

Beaver Tales Art Exhibit: A Celebration of Beaver Art

2017 Beaver Tales Art Exhibit and Sale

The Wetlands Conservancy and partners invite you to see nearly 100 artists at six different venues throughout 2017. These shows will highlight the Beaver, our natural ally in conserving Oregon’s wetlands and restoring natural systems.

Beavers, though woefully misunderstood actually create and sustain wetlands that aid in resuscitating our riparian stream habitats. They play a central role in shaping our future as we prepare for the transformations that a warming and changing climate may bring. The Wetlands Conservancy is launching a statewide beaver conservation vision. Our goal is to learn more about how we can work with beaver to conserve and restore natural systems.

Join us on the dates and at the venues shown below to celebrate the beaver and understand the role and benefits wetlands play in Oregon and your community.

The show kicks off with a reading by Frances Backhouse of her great book, “Once they were hats” and then starts the exhibit with a month long display at Oregon State University before beginning a tour around the state. It is organized by the good folks who had me speak last year at their Wetlands event in Portland. I tried introducing the organizer (Sara Vickerman) to our beaver artist heroine with the Gallery in Concord (FRO Butler) but transportation was too difficult to figure out.

I do know there is one important kind of artwork that will be sorely absent in this show. Dam foolish oversight if you ask me.

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Here’s a grandpa in North Carolina who wonders if beavers are safe to be around children. No, seriously. Press the arrow at the bottom right to view larger.

Beaver invasion has Greensboro neighbors concerned

GREENSBORO, N.C. — When Steve Brown heard that beavers were living in a nearby creek, he couldn’t wait to show his grandkids.

“Beavers had come into the creek by the children’s playground and had built two dams. My first thought was that’s cool I’ll go and check it out and watch them,” Brown said. Then he had second thoughts.

“I got to thinking, it’s right next to the playground. Are beavers safe? Are they dangerous, especially around kids?”

An old snark like me would be tempted to say that his problem happened when he “started thinking“. Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to do that. But I will just post this instead so folks can see for themselves how dangerous beavers are around children.

North American Beaver Castor canadensis Children watching beaver in urban environment Martinez, CA *Model release available - #Martinezbeavers_1.2 — North American Beaver
Castor canadensis
Children watching beaver in urban environment
Martinez, CA
*Model release available – #Martinezbeavers_1.2

Mysterious Beaver Delicacies

heidi08 Beaver Behavior January 25, 2017

Yesterday was my first full beaver-begging day, inviting folks to donate to the silent auction at our 10th festival. There were lots of things I was eager to ask for, although asking is always a worrisome chore. It helps for me to remember a story I heard from Jon’s sister, who is a nun, and the head of a large successful school in England, but I’ll save that for another day. First, we have wonders to wonder at.

I received a lot of very gracious responses and will do my formal plugs and promotions soon, but one man I spoke too said he loved beavers and had some building dams on his farm. I said that was admirable and he could let us know if he had troubles with them so we could connect him with answers. He said that he ran a small woodland mushroom business and they sometimes interfered by eating his mushrooms but he wrapped trees and made piece with them.

Which naturally had me exclaiming: Beavers eat MUSHROOMS?It used to be quite common that I would learn something new about beavers and spend the afternoon researching it. It rarely happens anymore, so this is a treat. And of course I’ve met many people who thought beavers were doing things they weren’t actually doing. But this is what I was able to find on a NPS for kids website.

What do they eat?

Beavers eat the bark, buds, stems, and twigs of trees: aspen, maple, willow, birch, black

alder, and black cherry trees. They really like soft plant foods, too:

grasses, mushrooms,leaves, ferns and the roots of water plants are some favorite snacks. Because a beaver’s front teeth grow all the time, a beaver must constantly chew on wood to trim the teeth down.

Now I’ve heard about leaves and roots, and seen photos of them taking bracken from our Scottish friends. I knew about acorns and strawberries, but I NEVER guessed about mushrooms! Are beavers hobbits? I guess it kind of makes sense, mushrooms like to grow in damp areas and beavers MAKE damp areas. But if it’s true do beavers ever eat the wrong mushrooms by mistake? Do all beavers eat mushrooms or is it an acquired taste? Do parents teach kits which mushrooms to avoid?

Inquiring minds want to know.