Last night saw several “hard core” beaver fans squinting on the bridge with numerous lenses aimed into the shadows. There were lots of false alarms, and good-natured laughter. We were kit-giddy, and our good spirits were rewarded with a glimpse of a kit riding a yearling’s back. Moses has the footage, but we could clearly witness this act of charity and the little scuffle that followed when big brother wanted to dive and little brother didn’t wanna get his ears wet.
Beaver-lovers commented on how hard it was to walk away: always there’s a suspicion that as soon as you put your lens cap back on the camera they will do something amazing. We thought maybe it is like leaving a slot machine; no one wants to leave before they get their quarters back, and no one feels like leaving when it’s paying off!
This morning we saw the large yearling chase off a small racoon, and slap at the ducks and geese as well. Finally there was lovely glimpse of one new kit, floating about in the middle and looking fairly adorable. He was a little unstable and used his tail to balance in an obvious way, but then did an elegant and efficient dive into the water and disappeared. I was able to get footage, and I saw Cheryl’s flash maybe capture a nice picture. For now I’ll include this picture of last year’s kit for context.
