Beaver's Back in Town

 Last fall, there seemed to be no beavers in residence at Damalot, the series of Beaver ponds along our River Loop trail.


Beavers do move on, but that made me sad.

This was the first time I've had the time to walk down the trail this Spring.  And -- look -- on the far bank -- a stripped cut tree that is proof positive of recent beaver's at work.

No sooner had this got me all excited that the beavers may be back, when along comes ExcaliBeav himself, Lord of Damalot, with a stick in his mouth, on the way to do some repairs to the dam.

I might have been able to get a closer shot, until Beav spotted Taffy walking along the dam.  SPLAT!  Beaver down.


One cannot argue with that, however. The Beavs are back in town.  From there on, it was easy to find evidence of their toothwork.





As beaver ponds work through their cycle of life, with beavers building them up, then moving on and letting the ponds turn into beaver meadows before new beavers move in, we are treated to an ever changing scene.   One of the most intriguing is that we can see the canals that were built under the water to provide deeper channels and easier access for moving logs around.

The old and very established dams grow over, colonized by grass and sedges, then by saplings, and finally supporting trees -- all of whose roots help to stabilize and hold the dam  in place.  Easy walking for poodles...   and rich in smells.



 Felling the tree is just the start. It must them be cut into manageable sections. You can see the chips here where the beaver has been hard at work.  He -- or she -- they are equal opportunity tree harvesters -- has removed a short section in the centre of this birch tree. Evidently it was just perfect for the leak in the dam and got hurried off to be woven into the structure!


 Beavers aside, the walk along here is always beautiful, even when the sedges are not in their summer finery.

 Here's a good look at how the beaver cuts the tree into pencil points to fell it.

 Trust me in this one... there is a pair of hooded mergansers in the back left side of the photo.  There were a pair of grey herons that overflew me too, but I wasn't able to get their picture.  A pair of mallards, and another duck that whirred away before I could even identify it were all on hand as well.  Beaver ponds provide sanctuary and homes and food to a myriad of other species.


And, just looking at the serenity of this, the beaver dam, reflections, soft drizzle taking away sharp edges, that has to be good for the soul.


This, looking down on the largest of the ponds (there are many of them!) gives a very good view of those underwater canals and causeways that the beavers have built over time.




It is one of our favourite hikes. Not overly long, not overly steep, thick with things to see and well populated with wildlife. The trail in leads through two big stands of pines, carpeted with moss. Even on a drizzly gray day, it's just beautiful in there.