Holes

heidi08 Recent Sightings March 16, 2009

Twice I visited the primary dam this weekend and both times there was a rush of water from what appeared to be a grapefruit sized hole under the location of the gap.The beavers seemed attentive to the hole but unsure of the best way to plug it up. They checked up and down stream, but the rush of water was too strong for mud and two wide for a stick. I saw mom, dad and kits finally just swim away in uncertain response. Maybe they knew the secondary dam was a bigger priority. Maybe they had another problem on their minds that I wasn’t even aware of.

I just wanted to hand them a plug and say, “here try this”

I suppose its not only beavers that sometimes face holes that drain away resources faster than they can be refilled. (Insert economy remark here.)

Beaver-licious

heidi08 Recent Sightings March 15, 2009

Yesterday was an epic beaver day. Cheryl started out the morning with a photo shoot and observation. Everyone was hard at work on the secondary dam, and she caught each one going back over the primary. Editors Note: Everyone meaning five, it looks like the yearlings have dispersed. God speed little fellas!

She then noticed Dad slink into the old lodge, where he seemed to be hanging out. It is usual for Dad to sleep separately while mom is coming along with her pregnancy, and that appears to be what he’s doing. How do you like your sheetpile panelling, Dad?

She caught some nice photos of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard who have been hanging around the dam and sleeping on the hay.

Later driving in Benicia she found an otter who had been hit by a car.Very sad picture, but a good look at their different body shape.

Thanks Cheryl for the photos! I tried to do a snazzy album but dm got sullen and had a tantrum in our frames, so these photos will have to do. All Photography by VP Wildlife Cheryl Reynolds.

I visited later that night (sans camera) and saw mom and her trio, raccoon, rat and muskrat. They are still taking straw for the lodge, and they need more. Anybody with a horse that can spare an armload or two? Bring it on down. Our beavers need a cozy place to sleep.

Beaver Exam

heidi08 Beaver News March 14, 2009

Beaver friend and columnist for the Examiner Christine McLaughlin, alerted me to her recent writing on our beavers yesterday. You might remember Christine from her entry on Suite101 where she described the animals and gave us for a link. I’ve been nudging Christine to come out and see for herself, and apparently she took the plunge.

Up close and personal with the beavers of Martinez

If you have never been introduced to one of wildlife’s greatest ambassadors, go visit the folks at Martinez Beavers and get up close and personal with the original engineer.

Good places for beaver viewing is at the Escobar, Marina Vista and Amtrak Station footbridges. Remember, beavers are nocturnal, so your best bet to catch some action is to show up in the early mornings or late evenings.

From 680: Exit at Marina Vista and go downtown to Castro Street.
From Hwy 4: Exit Alhambra Ave., go downtown and make a right onto Marina Vista. Make another right onto Escobar.

Ahhhh thank you, Christine! I wonder when you came and what you saw? Our beavers have been dam busy lately, so you might have seen quite a lot.

Welcome aBoard!!!

heidi08 Educational, Environmental, Festival March 13, 2009

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

John Muir

One of the remarkable things about this beaver journey has been the new opportunities it has brought my way, whether it’s giving an hour interview to a documentary filmaker in my living room, writing the introduction to a children’s book, or being a paid speaker at the Audubon Society, I have never known what to expect. Last week the list of unlooked-for treasures got longer with an offer communicated by Igor Skaredoff to be considered for the board of directors of the John Muir Association. Thursday night I was officially “voted” in and am now an acting board member.

The John Muir association is a triple bridge between the National Park Site here in town, the history and teachings of the man himself, and the local community. It organizes the Birthday-Earth Day Festival in the Spring, the Conservation awards, the John Muir Summer camp, and a host of other environment-attending events. It has been supportive of the beavers from the beginning, and is interested in adding more community building (such has we have been able to do) to its organization.

Surely John Muir deserves whatever Beaver Bump we can provide…

Its a huge and not un-intimidating honor to be asked, because these people are serious environmental thinkers with serious resources. Two are heir of Muir himself, the longtime member Michael Muir, founder of Access Adventure, and another welcomed last night with me. Michael talked enthusiastically about the beavers at Lundy lake which is known for its lovely fall aspen display. The aspen is especially dramatic because of all the beaver activity (coppicing making trees bushy). He said he took his first backpacking trip in the hills there, carrying the heavy sleeping bag that John Muir himself had used in Alaska. He speculated about the idea of a board retreat in their cabin there.

You must know by now the story had all my attention!

Wiser minds than mine have long thought that there is a natural relationship between the renowned environmentalist and our now-famous beaver friends. Beavers protect habitat, expand watershed, preserve wildlife, and grant a living legacy to whatever they touch. Both shaped the American landscape with their tireless efforts. Securing the link between these ecosystem engineers and the father of our National Parks can only deepen our understanding of our role as stewards of the earth and its wild places.

Plus it is really good news for the legitimacy of the beavers and their continued place in Alhambra Creek.

Dam Hard Work

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere March 9, 2009

Last night’s trip to the dam showed a creek much drained and a water level lower than I had seen it in a year. All the dams had been broken in the storm, so each of the ponds had lost as much as a foot of water. The horrible sandbar is visible again under the Escobar bridge. The water coming out of the flow device could actually be heard pouring, since the secondary dam had lowered that pond so much. And the fourth dam was washed out significantly.

By 8 the beavers were already hard at work, three kits and one adult mudding the primary dam. In fact, the adult made a delivery of fresh mud over and over again once every thirty seconds. It was pretty grueling work, although the kits still had time to stop and nibble. We were told that the level was lower on Saturday, so that means the work is going in the right direction, but it was a little daunting.

Something that multiple home buyers know; increased real estate doesn’t just make you wealthy. Sometimes it means you have three times as many roofs to leak, or boards to warp.

Well they had plenty of raw materials, and a full staff of helpers, so I’m sure they’ll get it done. I’m hydrophobic when it comes to water loss, but they seemed to take it in stride. Beavers fix things, its what they do.

Beaver friend TP sends this announcement:

Did i tell you i saw a beautiful beaver in the Benicia State Recreation Area wetlands off military west? The dam is in the stream just south of the freeway and he/she was paddling along in the water.The thing i thought was good news for us was there was not a tree in sight, i mean not anywhere close to the stream or wetlands. just tons of reeds. so that is what he/she was both feeding on and using to build the dam, i guess. Does that mean our beavers can do well without a ton of trees on the shoreline anymore?

Yes it does, although I wonder if you actually saw a dam? Some beavers don’t build them when they have water wide enough to manage. Our beavers certainly eat tulle: they yank them up by the roots, wash them off in the water and chew them like carrots.

Trip to Benicia anyone?