You may remember that an American Beaver visited us in late September, and we weren’t sure what to do about him. Well, he apparently has decided to stay and we still don’t know what to do about him, other than to name him Bernie and see what happens.
This is an image of Bernie at dusk Tuesday, when he was working hard in a pond that he alone created and that apparently still is a work in progress. He did it by putting up a dam across a stream that acts as an overflow channel from our large pond. Except for his first day here, I have only seen Bernie at dusk, which apparently is when he starts his solo shift at the new pond.
As of yesterday, his dam was about three feet high, which is not nearly the size of some beaver Hoover Dams that I’ve seen. (Not yet, anyway.) He also has taken down at least eight of the many trees in that area. He prefers birch but also has taken down a small maple and several alders as far as I have seen.
Bernie’s new pond is in a wooded area where a reasonable amount of flooding likely won’t be a problem. In the morning sun, the still, new waters give off reflections of the vegetation that the impressionist Claude Monet probably would like; Bernie probably improved the scene:
Bernie also has created what looks like a relatively small, wood-and-mud-covered residence on a little island in an existing, adjac:ent pond, but I’ve seen no dam engineering going on there. I’ve also seen no signs of another beaver in the whole area.
My hope is that Bernie is one of those crotchety “bachelor beavers” that like to live alone and don’t build large dams or colony lodges. They usually build just enough to protect themselves and then get very territorial about keeping other beavers out, according to the literature.
If that’s what happens, he and we probably will be able to come to an understanding. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on October 7 (Bernie) and 11 (Bernie’s mew pond).