Caged? Part Deaux

Remember our old friend Ian Timothy?

heidi08 Educational February 11, 2009

Back in september we posted the claymation wonder from then 13 yr old Ian Timothy of Kentucky. He loves beavers and sent us his first beaver production. Ahhh, times change. Now he’s 14, still loves beavers and decided to enter the “Virtual Science Contest” for his local museum and won FIRST PRIZE of a 1000.00 dollars with this beaver video.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=wXE6Edt8Vmo&feature=channel_page.]

Stop by youtube and give him 5 stars, for this truly remarkable entry. (That’s his Dad on the Banjo by the way.) I told him he’s an honorary Worth A Dam member, and his t-shirt was in the mail. Tomorrow I’ll put up his “Beaver Creek” Part II.

They Just Keep Getting Letters…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere February 11, 2009

Our beaver friend from Ontario writes that there was such public outcry in St. Catherines that the whole extermination plan is being reconsidered,

Dear Heidi – we have made some headway in regards to the beaver trapping, here in St. Catharines. NAfA had a meeting with The Parks and Recreation Dept. (the people that initiated the trapping), it went pretty well. They’d like to meet with us again to further discuss things. Right now they’re doing their own research. The Ministry of Natural Resources can offer them trees to plant and they have the contact info for the City of Hamilton who apparently also had a ‘beaver’ problem which was resolved peacefully. We said we’d like to work with them on this issue, perhaps by organizing a count, tree-wrapping, dropping of branches etc.

She wanted info and advice so she can come back to the table suitably armed. She sent a collection of letters published in the St Catherines Standard, and this one really stood out. I guess beavers really do change things….and people.

Hello Mr. Gill,

Let our family add our voices to the many who have been requesting the city revisit its decision to trap beavers along the Twelve Mile Creek waterway. We were horrified to read the city is doing this, especially when it appears there are alternative measures to be taken. When there were problems with Canada geese along the Welland Canal Parkways trail, did the city hire someone to just go out and shoot them? No, to its credit, the city was creative in its thinking and took preventative measures which were humane and progressive.

More and more our children are taught to respect nature. As urban dwellers, we have to co-exist with the wildlife that inhabits our shared greenspace. Beavers are in the Twelve Mile Creek watershed area because it is a good habitat for them. Surely simply killing the ones living there now will only mean more space for other beavers to take up residence there in the future.

Our family enjoyed a walk along the Twelve Mile Creek trail from Welland Vale up to Erion Rd. over the Christmas holidays. We were excited to see evidence of beaver activity in such an urban environment. Our children examined the tree shavings and marveled at the way a beaver systematically removes trees, most of which were small saplings. We looked for their dams and spent a lot of time talking about beavers during our walk. We even sought out books about them when we visited the library later that day. However, just a couple of weeks later we read the awful news in the paper about their fate and naturally, our children were very upset.

Please investigate the alternative, more humane measures of dealing with these beavers. Adopting the very “old school” attitude of dealing with wildlife (i.e., eliminating it) is, we think, failing to show progressive leadership on this issue.

Thank you, Mr. Gill, for hearing our views.

The C Family

Sarah, Kevin, Alastair (12) and Malcolm (10)

St. Catharines

Scaup-less

heidi08 New Species January 7, 2010

I was just looking up dates and realizing that this time last year we had flocks of scaup flying up over the dams to feed in Alhambra Creek. I think one morning Cheryl counted 30. I was assuming it was later in the year but this picture of mine was taken at the dam and dated February 14th (and don’t I have a romantic life!) Yesterday I did another scaup search. Where are they?

Scaup are an interesting, carnivorous duck that feed on mussels or clams and have the dubious distinction of being able to “play dead” if caught by a predator. We were never sure if they were Lesser or Greater Scaup, because the two species look very alike are are typically differentiated by the presence of absence of salt water. With Alhambra Creeks brackish tidal mixed drink it is anyone’s guess. Last years’ highwater (before the flow device was installed) and then the sudden lowering in January created a bigger mussel population, so maybe that’s why they came then and were less enticed this year. Or its possible the broad barren dredging project discouraged them.

Or maybe they just don’t like sheet pile.

Still, the increase in scaup last year was something of an estuary “coup” since the San Francisco Estuary Project’s State of the Estuary Report described declining scaup every where in the bay area, and didn’t realize the Martinez had gotten lucky!

Keep your eye out for our missing feathered friends, and write if you see anything swimming that looks like an oreo cookie.

UPDATE:

Reader CM writes “Saw one scaup swimming alone just north of starbucks on Monday”. Hear that team? Go find some others….Thanks CM!

What’s on your back porch?

heidi08 New Species September 27, 2009

Apparently this email has gone “viral”, and who can blame every adoring admirer that sends this to all their friends and relatives? You may have read something about the weather in Victoria Austalia, they say its the worst heat wave in a hundred years and fire crews are working like mad to keep things safe. This is back story to explain the little visitor that appears in this photo.

The baby was found shaking underneath a verandah and “looking very sick” after its mother was apparently overcome by the ferocious heatwave that struck Victoria last week.

So the kids found it and the mom invited it inside while they were waiting for the wildlife experts. Read the whole lovely story in the Daily Telegraph. This lost and unmothered little critter was so grateful for the bowl of water offered, it just hopped in. If you feel brave enough to face unruly popup ads, there’s a photo show in the article that won’t look anything like you expect.

I keep looking at this picture and wondering about this little girl. Was this her most magical day ever? Or do they have Koala’s on their porch all the time? I do think experiences upclose with wildlife change (summon) you in a powerful way: well, they did me.

This is as good a time as any to post this newly available video of my OTHER favorite mammal from Australia, maybe one you’ve never heard of. The Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) feeds entirely on nectar and is small enough to fit on a finger. The colorful locals call them “Noolbenger”, which is reason enough to catch your interest. They are having a tough time as their favorite food (the nectar-heavy native Banksia) is getting less and less common under the influence of urban development.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y1CjINN38Jc]

Maybe its a nocturnal rodent-looking thing, but I definately plan on making the pilgrimage down under to stumble about in the dark and see these little fellows with a flashlight.

Last tag:

Beaver friends LK and GTK are working on a Facebook presence for our beavers, since last night I’m told we’ve made 17 friends, many of them from Turkey?

Centum Quengenti (CD)

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental February 3, 2009

Welcome to the 400th post on this website! Thank goodness (and Jean) we’re back to normal for our CD anniversary. News of the day includes the Gazette mention of Mayor Schroder being honored by the Boy Scouts of America with the “silver beaver award”. Linda points out that beavers just seem to follow the poor man wherever he goes.

Yesterday I tracked down the artist of this fine environment-awareness raising work from Gary Bogue’s webpage.

Kay Mulkey is an artist and wildlife watcher in nearby Lafayette, and I suggested she may want to add beavers to her list of subjects. She was intrigued and plans a foray after the weather warms to try her hand at “Castor Martinium”. I’ll keep you posted!

Got word today that Solution-minded Beaver friend Mike Callahan had a nice phone conversation with Bob Armstrong about the beavers in Juneau. They are going to be working on fixes that keep those fat Coho salmon happy. For good measure I put Mike in touch with our NZ friend William Huges-Games, a marine biologist and beaver fan who is interested in challenging the myth that beaver dams ruin salmon’s day. He’s wants a large scale research project documenting dam passage to make Scotland feel better about its chances.

Finally, a personal note. Jon’s Honda expired this weekend and we had to seek alternate transport. Times being what they are we bought a Prius and are still trying to tell if the engine’s running when we stop. I decided to update the bumper sticker and called Zazzle about a problem with the order. The very kindly voice on the other end fixed me right up and then said tentatively,

“I have a confession to make”…pause…”I’m your neice!”

Of course when one calls customer service, one never knows where or who you’ll be talking to. I can tell you THAT was a surprise. So there you go, a reminder to be polite to everyone all the time.