THE WORTH A DAM STORY

A little Muskrat Love

heidi08 New Species, Video May 22, 2011

We were seeing more muskrats than beavers last week so I couldn’t resist. Rumor is someone saw a mink below the secondary so that may change for now. I am ashamed to say how long this took me to make with lots of conversions and tutorials along the way. It’s hardly the opus I envisioned, but I do think it conveys the general idea. The one priceless shot I didn’t get was a moment last week where a hard-working beaver put willow on the secondary dam and an opportunistic muskrat waited until he left and swam away with it for a snack. Neighbors!

Halcyon Days

heidi08 New Species, Video April 1, 2011

Kingfishers — Kingfisher Pair 3-31-11: Cheryl Reynolds

Have you noticed our recent kingfisher pair at the beaver dam? You’ve probably heard their rattling call if you’ve been down recently. The belted Kingfisher is a jewel of a bird that chooses a perch with a view of the water and swoops down like a bullet to capture a fish with its great beak before flying back up to its perch where it enjoys its labors.

halcyon — Belted Kingfisher- Cheryl Reynolds

The Cornell birding sight tells me that it is one of the few species where the female is actually more colorful than the male. It is sometimes thought to be the origin of the mythical bird the halcyon who the Greeks believed would create a floating nest at sea during winter solstice, calming the waves with its magical purpose. In fact the Kingfisher nests in holes in the bank so we are very curious whether we will have a family soon in one of the new exposed banks the washed out dams left behind. This should give you an idea of what to look for:

And this should give you an idea of the fishing behavior, this was filmed on the Albion River, but it looks exactly the same on Alhambra Creek!

Halcyon Days

By Walt Whitman – 1819-1892

Not from successful love alone,

Nor wealth, nor honor’d middle age, nor victories of politics or war;

But as life wanes, and all the turbulent passions calm,

As gorgeous, vapory, silent hues cover the evening sky,

As softness, fulness, rest, suffuse the frame, like freshier, balmier air,

As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs

really finish’d and indolent-ripe on the tree,

Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!

The brooding and blissful halcyon days!

Owl-Pal

heidi08 New Species March 17, 2011

Scott Artis, who heard the call of burrowing owls in Antioch, helped us with the website upgrade, and now is coordinating displays for the Earth Day event at the John Muir National Historic Site, posted this lovely adventure two days ago and I thought you’d want to see.

I received an email from Lindsay Wildlife Museum alerting me that a burrowing owl was reportedly trapped in a store of a nearby outdoor mall. Unfortunately, the commotion caused the owl to retreat to a secluded spot in the rafters, 18 feet off the ground.

15 minutes later I was walking through the open doors of Mainland Skate and Surf (Streets of Brentwood). And not only was the ceiling 18 feet high, but a burrowing owl was perched on the ventilation ductwork at the furthest possible point from the enticing open doors. After a period of 5 minutes discussing options with staff management, we were able to coax the little owl to fly…which for both our sakes resulted in a landing between some hanging backpacks. As I sprinted across the store I could see him jostling with the canvas until he came to rest on the ground. Without hesitation I grabbed a folded shirt from a perfectly aligned stack and covered the nervous owl.

Go read the entire story at Scott’s site and say hi from the Martinez Beavers. It is pretty wonderful when the major players start to know your name and send distress calls your way. He has done a mountain of work, and the owls are lucky to have him.

Not just for Beavers, anymore.

heidi08 Environmental, New Species March 9, 2011

A friend whose home is along Alhambra Creek above Brown Street sends these photos of his backyard visitors.

Hooded Mergansers in Alhambra Creek: William Mechling

Regular readers of this blog will recognize the showy plumage of Hooded mergansers. This remarkable fish-eating duck nests in tree cavities in the east and comes out here to enjoy shallow waters during the winter. The excellent Cornell birding site tells me that sometimes several females will lay eggs in a single nest and adds

The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight. The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision.

How cool is that? A bird with water-vision goggles? What does it mean that Hooded Mergansers are in upper Alhambra Creek? It means there are little fish for them to eat, which is always a good sign. it has been documented that our watershed, like most, gets less healthy and robust as it flows down to the mouth. Increased runoff from streets and drains introduce more toxins and pollutants. In fact the location of the beaver dams is historically the least healthy section of the entire creek.

I like to think that the beavers are changing that one pond at a time.

Otter Time

heidi08 New Species February 28, 2011

It’s not quite that time of year, but sometimes nature has her own schedule. In spring female otters come darting out of the den and look for food, letting their children swim about and see the big world. They’ve been holed up for two months, using the lodge some nice beaver left behind. She goes without a meal for a good long while nursing the kits and emerges much changed! To say opportunistic males have a minimal role in otter rearing is too long a word for their brief involvement. Last night Jon stumbled onto a churning uncountable mass of pups at the river by the power plant where he works – he was eventually able to identify 8 little heads, which seemed to divide in two directions before heading home.

lots of otterlets!!!!At least 8, not 3 feet away from me!!! The water at the bank was just boiling with little bodies and tails, then they saw me and the water was full of huffing periscoping otter heads, then they were gone. Very cool!!

Here’s some footage of another otter pup sighting to get you in the mood. The footage at the end shows some lovely pups swimming underwater.