Beaver Perspectives

One inconscient day at Halibut Point about four years ago I was startled by a large form breaking the surface of the quarry, at the edge of my vision. I reached for my camera disbelieving a seal could have wiggled up from the sea. Turning back, only a bubble trail remained. I scanned the quarry surface for several minutes but The Thing didn't reappear. How long could it hold its breath?

Several weeks later one of the Park staff asked if I'd seen Chuck the Beaver. The apparition fell in place. A specimen of North America's largest rodent had crossed the State highway to this ready-made pond for the first time in anyone's memory.

Those of us awaiting a good look at our first beaver began to notice encouraging signs in the 'penciling' of trees near the quarry.

A 'penciled' tree

The work was more precise than what we had been able to achieve in our formative years with Boy Scout hatchets. The top of the tree was missing....

Precision

The felling had taken place by moonlight. I tried a few times to be in attendance during the crepuscular hours of dawn and dusk when a few Park walkers had lucky encounters, but fortune (or the creature's good hearing) eluded me.

Beaver in the shadows

Once that summer I thought I noticed shrubbery moving at a distance across the quarry. Enlarging the picture at home I found the beaver munching a stick in the shadows! But this inadvertent prize didn't have the clarity I desired.

Sally and the beaver
Steve Amazeen photo

I imagined that a longer lens would help, or a stealthier approach, somehow, along the crunchy gravel path. These notions were eroded by the trophy photo that Steve Amazeen took one morning on his walk with Sally. The beaver introduced itself to Sally in broad daylight.

The lodge appears

I was concerned that time was running out to get a photo of my own. People said it wouldn't stay, that a ready-made pond wouldn't suit it because beavers' damming instincts are triggered by the sound of running water. Nevertheless domestic building got under way in the stillness of a quarry corner. Was family activity imminent?

Snug winter in the lodge at lower right

No one reported sighting a second beaver. But perhaps Chuck was a pioneer who would attract a mate in the spring.

Logs stored and consumed

Late in the year beavers accumulate food for the winter, storing it underwater or within the lodge. Never fully hibernating they have to eat year round. They find nutrition in the cambium layer between wood and bark.

A beaver-engineered dam and pond in Dogtown Commons

Anticipation of a beaver colony prompted controversy at Halibut Point. Would they become an icon or a pest? Beavers have a nearly human capacity to change environments.

A night's work beside the quarry

Vegetation was disappearing. Some areas of the quarry began looking stark. I worried about the impact on bird life.

Mallards

The Mallards, of course, were unfazed and opportunistic--qualities they share with rodents in proximity to humans.

One day I got my picture in the briefest of appearances. The creature was long, sleek, and a wonderful rich brown. It was my only sighting.

Beaver speculations continued into this year although no one has reported seeing Chuck since last fall when he was spotted at a nearby watery sanctuary. Then Halibut Point walker Richard Meyer sent me a precious video of beaver doings in the quarry.

One frame of the beaver video

Richard made his recordings with a cell phone! I ate humble pie with delight.

Richard Meyer

Richard hit upon a technique for capturing pictures in the moment. "What you can see out here is just amazing. I walk around the loop holding the camera like this in front of me. Then if anything crosses the path I get it."