Video – Page 14 – Worth A Dam

The Hero’s Return

heidi08 Beaver News, Video March 29, 2011

Guess what I saw this morning?

Cheryl and I were both down this morning to find the missing beavers before she had to go to work. We were so discouraged by mallards that when I first saw this appearance I assumed it was another one. Hmm I thought…another duck….but this one is carrying a tree! I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that little face! It was one of our kits, short in the water, and working like the dickens to bring that little tree unsnagged up stream. If you want to come look for yourself they seem to be coming home around 7:15. And shhh on that footbridge, it carries so many noises and vibrations!

A reader recommends this fitting tribute

INVICTUS by William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

I promised I would give an update about our beaver friends presenting at the Salmonid Restoration Conference, so here’s feedback from Dr’s Pollock and Lanman:

Rick: I only stayed for the five presentations at Brock’s workshop Wed am – zero pushback. One audience member said she was looking to count fish in San Luis Obispo Creek DOWNTOWN and was startled by a beaver slap and she jumped right on top of his lodge, she didn’t know it until s/he swam right towards them and then into the lodge. She said the pond was “FULL OF FISH”. Made a nice punctuation to my talk. I had to leave Wed right after the presentation so could not stay for Pollock’s plenary session Friday am.

I got a lot of good feedback that people enjoyed the talk and got a lot of good information out of it. It seems as though I assumed people knew about the coho-beaver connection so did not cover that and there was a suggestion that I should have included more info on that. Also, the beaver-water storage connection needs strengthening and explaining such that the concepts are more accessible to people with a wider range of backgrounds. I did use the beaver picture that I am pretty sure Cheryl took and gave her and Worth–Dam credit, I hope that I got that right. A number of people commented on how they really liked the picture (it was the one that had the school of salmon morphed into the background, so you may get some inquires about that. Seemed as though beaver got a lot of favorable reviews, though I did run into a few folks that thought beaver dams were fish blockages, therefore remove them all, including the fisheries bios that work on the Santa Ynez River. I also talked to two people that thought beaver didn’t belong in CA because they were non-native because they were introduced from stock from the Rocky Mountains. They couldn’t explain why they were sure that there was a difference, but they were sure. The beaver in CA question came up at the end of the talk and I said that Dr. Lanman had provided damming evidence that historically, beaver were distributed throughout most of CA (yes I really said that, I couldn’t help it). Lots of good connections, a really great crowd of people. I left feeling quite inspired by all the good work going on, and there was a fun party at the end to wrap it all up.

Another day, another beaver…

What’s this turtle doing?

heidi08 Beavers, Environmental, Video October 21, 2010

The above was filmed last night at the beaver dam. A turtle was cautiously watching ‘the gap’ and seemed to want to go over so I started filming. Half way through the turtle appears to change its mind and come back, then started this weird back-and-forth rubbing on the surface. The way the legs are moving i wondered if (she) was digging a hole and laying eggs? Now i wonder if (he) is more likely marking his territory and telling no other turtles to cross here. It is a pretty smart investment of turtle resources, since nobody gets to the pond without using the gap. Our beaver friend who knows all about creeks asker her friend whose a turtle expert and he says turtles don’t scent mark which means we really have no idea what he or she was doing.

The Hokey Pokey? Meanwhile, all three kits were seen last night: you can even see their telltale ripples in the water.

The turtle unfortunately isn’t one of our many pond turtles, but looks to be a red-eared slider, a released ‘pet’ that has bred in the wild and has become a pretty invasive species. It’s the same breed that laid eggs near the bridge two years ago, hatching 13 babies, one of which is now lovingly cared for in the office of the county recorder. Looking at this turtle choosing the most traversed part of the entire creek to mark you can understand why aggressive sliders have been more successful than the gentler western pond turtles. Cheryl tells me that there is even a program to reintroduce and foster pond turtle sponsored by the Oakland Zoo.

Just in case any reader needs a ‘gap refresher course’ I suggest you take a look at this video. (Footage shot by Cheryl Reynolds). You can see that every species, be they beaver or bird, crosses the dam in the little depression we call ‘the gap’. In fact, in 2008 when Mom and Dad beaver first let their kits into the pond, Jon saw them lay ‘sticks’ over the gap – in effect closing the door and making a water-safe playpen for their children!

I will end with apologies for the weirdness of the website of late. The server was down yesterday and depending on the browser you use some viewers have been getting incomplete or dropped posts. I assure you we are working on figuring out the solution, and feel free to drop me a note if any thing inexplicable appears on this site.

Beaver Magic

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, New Species, Video October 17, 2010

Last night at the beaver dam was a fairly joyous occasion. All three kits and GQ in view, as well as some pretty spectacular fish-jumping. (I’ve already had a couple votes for ‘bass’) It’s been a week of highs and lows, with long nights of very little to see. But last night reassured us that all was right in beaverland.

Jack Laws came back with his mom, sketched some more and marveled at the aquatic display. I encouraged him to think about maybe doing a beaver field-sketching workshop at the festival next year. He thought the idea might be irresistible. He said he had lectured recently in a class room on the Eastern Sierras and noticed that the room was full of all things beaver. He stopped and showed the teacher the hat which we had given him when he came last and saw her face launch into such delight he generously had handed it over. Somewhere on the Eastern Sierras is a unknown teacher with a Worth A Dam hat. How cool is that?

Weirdly good things seem to be happening, and its been hard to catch up. I was thinking yesterday how truly synergistic it will be to present Mike’s award at the JMA night, surrounded by NPS Rangers including one from Yosemite. It would be awesome to help nudge these skills into the National Park Service. I can’t think of a single thing that could make a bigger difference to the well being of beavers from Yellowstone to the Smokey Mountains.

Speaking of education and life-changing events, will there be a “State of the Beaver Conference: 2011”? You bet there will. And I have some pretty exciting news about it. I’ll tell you tomorrow.

Riches from History

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Video September 30, 2010

Yesterday I found this historical footage of Grey Owl on the web. Since I had seen only still images I never imagined that they were from an actual movie. It was like seeing pages leap to life. You will probably remember that Grey Owl (Archibald Bellamy) was a trapper who became a beaver advocate at the turn of the century in Canada. It was generally believed at the time that he was half native, although it later came out that he was fully British. This created somewhat of a controversy as much of Canada felt ‘duped’ by his pretense at nativity. Looking at this footage the man looks so entirely anglo I can’t imagine anyone being successfully fooled.

Regardless of his parentage, Grey Owl did remarkable, needed, powerful things to highlight the value of beavers and their plight at the time. It is no exaggeration to say he single-handedly changed the attitude towards beavers and kick-started the conservation movement. His writings are delightful and attentive to the creatures, and one of my most treasured gifts was a copy of his second book signed by “Grey Owl” himself.

In 1999 the story of Grey Owl was turned into a movie with Pierce Brosnan, directed by Richard Attenborough. Our own friend Sharon Brown helped them find beavers for the starring role, and the movie can be purchased through the Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife site. All true beaver believers should own a copy. It contains more original footage as well. Cinematically speaking, I thought the movie itself was a fairly un-climactic look at a great man’s life, and could complain about the lighting, the acting, the editing and the sound quality, but the unmatched beaver performances were FLAWLESS! Such grace and power! I liked this speech a lot.

Great beaver viewing last night. Two kits milling about enjoying willow and blackberries. Then one went over for a short time before coming back with a sibling right behind! A beaver train! We hadn’t even known one was downstream. It was too dark for footage but images of the beaver procession would have been one to treasure!

Discovery

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Video September 29, 2010

Have you ever been down to see the beavers in the morning, when no one else is there, and the only sounds are train whistles and garbage trucks? All the noisy drunks are asleep, and no one is even out walking their dogs yet?. Then a sighting seems less like ‘meeting an old friend’ and more like a Grand Discovery. That’s how it was the June morning when I first spotted this year’s kit. We only saw one at first. It took a few weeks before we knew about the TRIO.

All month I had been waking up with a sense of “ITS TIME!!!” even though it would have been much better for me to sleep for another hour. It could hardly have been rational since we never saw a kit last year and mom was obviously not well. Even though I told myself it was probably not possible, I found my groggy self in the stillness at the bridge, waiting. Foremost in my mind were two blessed mornings two and three years ago when I had stumbled down at dawn and been greeted by furry wonders. The first time, June 13th 2007, when I was alone and discovered my first ever kit will always be such a startling, dramatic memory. I can’t tell you how forcefully I didn’t expect it. Forget Dads and Grads, June is now forever the month of new kits. Every summer after I have remembered that wonder and half-expected to feel it again – I certainly wasn’t thinking about the hundreds of times I came and saw nothing. (Any truly compulsive gambler only remembers her successes.)

We were so happy to find out that we had as many as three! And have been so comforted by how finely they seem to have grown so far. Clearly they are well on their way to becoming their own beavers. October will mark their 5th month. We’ve seen them all go over the dam and forage on their own. We’ve seen them mudding and putting sticks on the dam now. But it all started with the discovery: A morning alone with wonder. When I saw this remarkable video yesterday it reminded me so much of that feeling, I thought I would share.