Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Beaver

Decided to go and see if there was any sign of the Beavers in Fish Creek Park on 20 September 2014. Only managed to get a handful of shots in very low light and this was one of the only ones that I didn't delete. This young Beaver was trying its best to add to the dam that this family had built, and it was so cute to see it trying to add a small stick or a twig or two. It was learning well from its parents : ) I find Beavers so difficult to photograph when they are wet, but once some of the fur dries out a little, you can pick up some detail. Wish these guys came out during the day rather than the evening. I think this was the last time I saw any members of this Beaver family – I haven’t been back to look. "The American beaver, Canada's national emblem, is the largest North American rodent. Adults weigh about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), but may get as large as 35 kilograms (77 pounds). Beavers are remarkably adapted to their aquatic and logging lifestyle. The tail has multiple functions, including as a rudder when swimming, a prop when standing, a lever when dragging logs and a warning device when slapped on the water. The beaver is one of the few animals that changes its environment to suit its lifestyle. Beavers construct dams on streams to create ponds. Beaver ponds flood the surrounding woodland, providing protection for the beavers and allowing them to fell trees close to shore. Beaver ponds are usually occupied by one family of beavers. The average colony contains one pair of adults, about four young of the year (kits), and young from the previous year (yearlings). A beaver house is constructed of sticks and mud, and is usually situated well away from shore so that land-based predators cannot get at it in summer. In winter, the mud freezes, forming an impregnable fortress against predators that might venture across the ice. Some beavers live along rivers and do not build dams or lodges. Instead they burrow into the bank of the river and fell trees for food near their home." From Fish and Wildlife. esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/mammals/rabbit...

A photo that I took on 14 September 2014, of one of the young Beavers that live in Fish Creek Park. They were such amazing animals to watch and one can see why the expression "busy as a Beaver" came into being. Their big, orange front teeth cut through wood at a tremendous speed. I couldn't help but smile at the rather loud munching sound made by this youngster, as it stripped the bark from this small branch. "Beavers are best known for their dam-building. They maintain their pond-habitat by reacting quickly to the sound of running water, and damming it up with tree branches and mud. The largest beaver dam is 2,790 ft (850 m) in length—more than half a mile long—and was discovered via satellite imagery in 2007. It is located on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and is twice the width of the Hoover Dam which spans 1,244 ft (379 m)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for an afternoon birding walk on 14 September 2014. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week (9 and 10 September), that damaged thousands of trees in the city! After a quick look for birds along the avenue of trees near Fish Creek Provincial Park headquarters, we drove down to the Boat Launch area and from there we walked south along the Bow River. The Ospreys were flying near the river ad we saw one of them carrying a fish to take back to their nest. We saw 30 bird species, but nothing close enough for photos. After an enjoyable walk, a few of us called in at Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack, which is always just as enjoyable as the walk itself. From there, I called in at a different part of the park and watched a family of Beavers swimming in their pond. While I was waiting, hoping that they might appear, so many American Robins flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - one of the adults, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting. The evening light fades so quickly now and the pond area was too dark to get any decent photos. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones - I think this was an adult in my photo. The evening reflections in the pond were beautiful, but I couldn't get a sharp focus on the wet Beaver, so I'm posting this more for the golden colours. The first time I saw these Beavers was on 14th September. I also called in on 18th, 20th and 21st. On 20th, only one Beaver showed up, which surprised us - had to delete all my photos as they were too blurry due to low light. The next evening, 21st (yesterday), neither adult nor any of the three young ones, showed up. A lady who stopped to talk to us said that she had heard vehicles and a lot of loud noise in that area the previous night (around 10:00 p.m. till midnight?). We are guessing that it was City workers maybe "removing" the Beavers. Trapping was supposed to be "on hold", after one of the adult Beavers got caught in a trap hidden down by the creek. His leg (foot?) got caught and he chewed off his foot/leg to escape. Amazingly, he was still managing reasonably well without it, poor thing. Imagine if a person had been walking in that spot and had got caught in the trap instead of an animal! The incident was reported by someone and it was in the news. I don't know what will end up happening to this little family, which apparently was seen again a couple of days ago. People really enjoy watching this busy little family, so hopefully they will be allowed to stay. After watching them, you can really see where the saying "busy as a Beaver" came from : ) CBC News about this family of Beavers, from 5 August 2014: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/city-reviews-beaver-contro... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for an afternoon birding walk on 14 September 2014. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week (9 and 10 September), that damaged thousands of trees in the city! After a quick look for birds along the avenue of trees near Fish Creek Provincial Park headquarters, we drove down to the Boat Launch area and from there we walked south along the Bow River. The Ospreys were flying near the river ad we saw one of them carrying a fish to take back to their nest. We saw 30 bird species, but nothing close enough for photos. After an enjoyable walk, a few of us called in at Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack, which is always just as enjoyable as the walk itself. From there, I called in at a different part of the park and watched a family of Beavers swimming in their pond. While I was waiting, hoping that they might appear, so many American Robins flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - one of the adults, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting. The evening light fades so quickly now and the pond area was too dark to get any decent photos. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones (one of them seen in this photo). We were amazed, at one moment, when an old wooden pallet started moving in the pond and blocked a small passageway between the banks. One Beaver was pulling this discarded structure all on its own. I wonder if they had originally found it washed up nearby, after the Alberta Flood of the Century last year (2013). The first time I saw these Beavers was on 14th September. I also called in on 18th, 20th and 21st. On 20th, only one Beaver showed up, which surprised us - had to delete all my photos as they were too blurry due to low light. The next evening, 21st (yesterday), neither adult nor any of the three young ones, showed up. A lady who stopped to talk to us said that she had heard vehicles and a lot of loud noise in that area the previous night (around 10:00 p.m. till midnight?). We are guessing that it was City workers maybe "removing" the Beavers. Trapping was supposed to be "on hold", after one of the adult Beavers got caught in a trap hidden down by the creek. His leg (foot?) got caught and he chewed off his leg to escape. Amazingly, he was still managing reasonably well without it, poor thing. Imagine if a person had been walking in that spot and had got caught in the trap instead of an animal! The incident was reported by someone and it was in the news. It will be interesting to hear if any of the Beavers are seen again - I suspect not. Such a shame, as people were really enjoying watching this busy little family. You can really see where the saying "busy as a Beaver" came from : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

On 14 September 2014, almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for a birding walk. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had had on 9 and 10 September, that damaged thousands of trees in the city! After a quick look for birds along the avenue of trees near Fish Creek Provincial Park headquarters, we drove down to the Boat Launch area and from there we walked south along the Bow River. The Ospreys were flying near the river ad we saw one of them carrying a fish to take back to their nest. We saw 30 bird species, but nothing close enough for photos. After an enjoyable walk, a few of us called in at Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack. From there, I called in at a different part of the park and watched a family of Beavers swimming in their pond. While I was waiting, hoping that they might appear, so many American Robins were flying from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones. The photo above shows two of the three youngsters. Unfortunately, the light was not good, and most of my photos are blurry and need to be deleted : ( We were amazed, at one moment, when an old wooden pallet started moving in the pond and blocked a small passageway between the banks. One Beaver was pulling this discarded structure all on its own. I wonder if they had originally found it washed up nearby, after the Alberta Flood of the Century last year (2013). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends yesterday afternoon for a birding walk. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, that damaged thousands of trees in the city! After a quick look for birds along the avenue of trees near Fish Creek Provincial Park headquarters, we drove down to the Boat Launch area and from there we walked south along the Bow River. The Ospreys were flying near the river ad we saw one of them carrying a fish to take back to their nest. We saw 30 bird species, but nothing close enough for photos. After an enjoyable walk, a few of us called in at Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack. From there, I called in at a different part of the park and watched a family of Beavers swimming in their pond. While I was waiting, hoping that they might appear, so many American Robins flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing, like this colourful male, on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - this adult, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting, so it's not the greatest photo. Better than almost all my photos taken of them yesterday, though, as the light was quickly fading and the pond area was too dark. Hope your photos came out much better than mine, Phil! Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones. We were amazed, at one moment, when an old wooden pallet started moving in the pond and blocked a small passageway between the banks. One Beaver was pulling this discarded structure all on its own. I wonder if they had originally found it washed up nearby, after the Alberta Flood of the Century last year (2013). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

When I drove out yesterday afternoon, on the spur of the moment, to Maclean Pond, (off Elbow Fall's Trail, Kananaskis), I came across this beaver skull at the edge of the forest. My first reaction was: "I wonder what LARGE animal maybe ate the Beaver" - I never like to think of LARGE animals when I am walking in forests on my own, LOL! However, maybe this rodent just died from sickness or old age. I took a few photos of it and left it in place - wildlife can get calcium from bones left on the ground, so it is important to leave them where they are found. "Beavers' front teeth are very special - they never stop growing! They must chew to trim their teeth to keep them from getting too long. The more they use their teeth, the sharper they become. Furry lips close behind their front teeth to keep water out when they go underwater. They have 20 teeth in total with chisel-shaped ends. Beavers' favorite food is tree bark! In spring, they like to eat juicy shrubs and tree buds. During the fall, they eat more bark than usual to put on more fat for the winter. In fall, they cut down many trees and gnaw them into smaller pieces. These are stored in big underwater piles near their homes. It's like having a pantry! When the ice freezes over the top of their pond, beavers dive down to their food stored underwater. If they run out of food, they just start eating bits of their house!" From ed.fnal.gov/entry_exhibits/beaver/beaver.html .

My friend showed me yesterday where there was this half of a beaver skull in our favourite natural area. I had no idea that a beaver's teeth were orange - and just like ivory. And just like small chisels! Both upper and lower jaws have a set of front teeth like these.

A Beaver's tail: It serves as a place to store fat. It works as a rudder and also helps the hind feet push the animal forward when swimming. It is a portable chair. They will either lean back against it when standing on their back legs or they will fold it around beneath them when sitting and grooming themselves. When they sense danger, they will slap the surface of the water with it to warn other beavers.

The Beaver officially became a Canadian emblem when it received royal assent on March 24, 1975. The first Canadian postage stamp was the "Three Penny Beaver" in 1851. The beaver is still found on the crest of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Canadian Nickel (5c coin) has a Beaver on the back side.

Eye contact! Quite an amusing face and expression. Those tiny, pink hands always fascinate me.

Had a very quick visit to my local park late this afternoon. Just as I was almost out of the park, I caught sight of this huge Beaver in the small creek. "In Canada, the beaver population was almost wiped out by 1930, but conservation measures have since restored their numbers to relatively healthy levels. Beavers have a well-developed social hierarchy in which the family is the basic unit, and the female the central figure in each family. The usual family group consists of the adults, the kits, and the yearlings of the previous year. The average size of the family is about 10 or 12 individuals. Adult weight varies between 15 and 35 kg with the average being about 20 kg. The bear, wolf, coyote, fisher, wolverine, otter, and lynx prey upon the beaver who is, nevertheless, a powerful antagonist when at bay. Their lodges, made of tangled sticks and caked mud, offer protection that even black bears have difficulty in breaking through. Beaver dams are usually about 50 m in length, 2 m high, and about 3 m through the base. Their dams help to maintain water levels in forest streams, thus providing habitat for themselves, fish, and waterfowl." Taken from www.nature.ca .