I was getting ready to announce Worth A Dam’s presence at the Flyway Festival the 6th and 7th, when two very fine events coincided to assist. The first is that we had a fantastic new bird visitor at the damlet site yesterday, caught by Cheryl here:
Clearly there is going to be a housing boom. This is a common merganser. Avid beaver fans will remember that a hooded merganser was filmed at the primary dam last February, so its obviously the time for visitors. Like wooduck, these birds are what’s known as “obligate cavity nesters” which means they lay their eggs in holes they cannot dig themselves. (“much obliged!”) And bird boxes. Like the one Mitchell installed three days ago. Cheryl saw him check out the area up stream and downstream. Expect to see more of this pointed face!
Today I noticed a little surge of activity on the webpage and went to see where it was from. I discovered that the Flyway Festival has put our information and program on the schedule!
1:30pm – 2:00pm
Slide show presented by Heidi Perryman, Ph.D.
The Martinez Beavers have been the center of controversy, environmental growth, and community action since 2007. This presentation will use footage and stills from a collection of local photographers to show the beavers’ unique impact on the habitat, including birds and other wildlife. It will outline tools used by the city to manage their continued presence. Heidi Perryman is a child psychologist who became an accidental beaver advocate when the family moved into the urban creek near her home. She began filming the beavers and writing articles for the local paper. Eventually serving on the “beaver subcommittee”, she formed the group Worth A Dam (associated with the 501.3 (c) Land for Urban Wildlife) to advocate for their continued care and teach others about the value of this Keystone Species. Learn more at www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress Join an artist from their team for a kid’s “beaver art” project on Saturday at the Wildlife Expo.
The entire roster of events is dazzling. They get 7500 people in a weekend. This is the BIG BIG BIG bird and watershed event of the year. And it is safe to say, in the history of the known world, they have never had a beaver display before. How exciting is that? Getting thousands of avid birders interested in the relationship between beaver dams and birds, and talking about the resources for beaver management? I can’t think of a better investment of a weekend. Come by and say hi and help us with our “build a banner” amazing art project!
