Heres a young beaver pulling a load of fresh grass back to the lodge for his younger brothers or sisters to sleep on. The kits should be making their first foray out into the big world soon. 5/25/16
I visited 3 different beaver ponds this morning in the north Quabbin region. This young beaver made me laugh. He was digging roots up then bringing them to the exact same spot to eat. He made about 20 trips in a 35 minute stretch of time before calling it a day, err night.... er morning, anyway he went in about 7:30AM..... 4/23/17
Happy Earth Day from myself and the amazing animals at the Quabbin Reservoir ! 4/22/17
Here is a small beaver hauling this big branch he dug up from the bottom of a pond. he's headed for the dam. 4/29/17
The creature from the black lagoon plugs up his dam this morning...... 4/28/17
This beaver was eating water lily blossoms for breakfast today. I have seen this before and these guys seem to really like the stems also. 5/23/16
I watched 2 young beavers at Quabbin out in a fast running stream below their pond for about an hour this morning. One decided to head back home and had to swim over 3 smaller dams and by me to get to the main pond behind their big dam. 2/19/16
As his journey back to the lodge nears its end he has the main dam to climb over. Its very unusual to see beavers out in the winter but this winter has been very mild with not a lot of ice on their ponds and streams. 2/18/16
And into his pond he goes home to the family again. Due to his size I believe this is a young beaver probably last winters kit. 2/18/16
And down the hatch it goes. He chewed off the bark like it was a piece of corn all the way down the full length of this branch..... 2/21/16
I thought Id try a video I shot this morning. ! Here are 2 beavers working on their dam early in the morning on May 1st, 2016 in the north Quabbin watershed. This was shot with my Nikon D810 and the Nikkor 200-500mm telephoto lens. If this works out I may stick up a video here from time to time..... 5/1/16
Here's four out of five beavers that are all living in a lodge and swamp in the Quabbin. By the size of them I think there are 2 adults, 2 one year olds and a two year old. They are a blast to watch. 4/1/16
Here is one of the beavers still working before they went inside of the lodge for the day an hour after sunrise on a cloudy day.... notice the large dead stick it is dragging up to the top of the lodge. 4/1/16
I tromped in to see what my beaver buddies were doing this morning and this yearling popped up right in front of me ! 4/25/16
A beaver takes one last cruise in the early morning sun before it spends the day in the lodge with the 4 other beavers it shares it with. 4/15/16
Today I watched 2 beavers duke it out. Over what Im not sure but this went on for 20 minutes or so, then they both swam away...... ! 3/16/16
I found this beaver early this morning eating fresh grass. I have seen them do this before. Lots of fresh greens to eat in the summer. 8/3/16
I spotted this beaver sunning itself this morning about 9 AM. he was just watching the world go by. Here he is leaving after about 20 minutes. He was dry so he must have been out of the water for a while. 8/14/16
This beaver was out of the water loafing in the sun last week. Today I figured out why. He is starting to get the lodge ready for winter by smearing mud and weeds on it for winterizing it. Does he know something we don't ? 8/19/16
I found this fuzzy beaver out during mid morning doing some cruising in front of the lodge. It was as if it was just enjoying being outside after being in the lodge for the long winter of 2015. 4/14/15
The same beaver as in the last photo. It hauled up on the bank and began to do its grooming. It knew I was there but it didn't seem to think I was a threat. 4/14/15
The little beaver that could! "I think I can I think I can" I watched as this beaver dragged this branch to the lodge about a 1/4 mile away.
The slapping of the tail. This is the beavers way of telling you to beat it and telling other beavers danger is near. (4/24/15)
After a long winter in the lodge this must taste like a gourmet meal to a beaver! Out in the morning snacking? Maybe it got the munchies? 4/24/15
Oh wait, thats a beaver out of water looking around behind some stumps that have been there since they created the Quabbin in the mid 1930's. 5/8/15
It's that time of year when beavers are starting to patch up the air holes in their lodges and getting ready for winter. After the holes are filled the food cache will be the next priority. They will need lots of shrubbery and branches to get thru the long winter. 9/8/16
I walked in to see my beaver buddies this morning and found them munching on water lily roots. They love this time of years as they can get fresh greens to add to their diets. 4/17/17
I spent the morning on the side of a beaver pond in the rain. I was surprised when this adult beaver steamed right by me, within 20 feet, looked at me and never gave me the tail slap! It just kept going along on its mission... 4/26/17
This morning I had this beaver come out of the water right where I was standing! I had been there a while and had all light brown clothes on. Maybe it thought I was a tree :) 5/19/17
This morning I was able to get within 30 feet of this beaver searching for acorns. I was on the other side of a small road and it came out of the water, almost in my lap ! I forgot to turn off my auto focus lenas on mt D810 thus the slight rumble.. 5/9/17
These beavers can drag immense loads with their teeth. This beaver hauled this 10 foot long branch across the pond to stash in the dam. 5/7/17
Another beaver out of the water this morning...... these guys are great ! 5/3/16
Note the teeth on this beaver. The teeth appear orange-yellow in color, because the thick enamel contains iron deposits which keep the enamel strong. This guy was eating spruce shoots along a pond side at Quabbin. 5/2/17
"Dad, my teeth hurt ! can I go over to Bucky's lodge and watch Leave It To Beaver ?? "
Heres another beaver clip. This guy decided to stop in front of me and have a snack. He didnt offer me any ? Are beavers rude? :) 5/11/17
On Saturday morning, the 6th of May we had over an inch of rain over night so I decided to see what the beavers were doing. This guy was eating between working while another pair worked patching up the dam.... what a face huh ?
Beavers slap their tails in the water when they are upset or want you gone! It happens faster than a strike of lightning and its also a message to other beavers in the colony that danger is near. This was 30 minutes into my stay so I ignored it. It kept coming by every 30 minutes and giving me a slap or two for the next 2 hours. 5/27/17
We had almost 2" of rain over the weekend this equals dam repair ! 8/7/17
Beavers get real secretive in the summer and loaf around the pond. This one popped up right in front of me yesterday and ate his breakfast of pond lilies ...... 7/26/17
I decided for a change of pace for myself this morning and hiked in to see how one of my three friendly clans of beavers I've spent years photographing are doing this winter. I found them doing great with a large cache of twigs left for the next month and a half. All is well in beaverland.... (this is an iPhone 6 photo)
All the beavers hard work all fall will keep them warm and dry through the winter months. I have been watching and filming thee beavers for over three years and they know how to do it !!
I have never seen a beaver out of the water and sniff me out until last week ! It was early morning and this beaver was eating green grass like a cow. I was about 80 yards away and all of a sudden he stood straight up and sniffed a couple times and launched into the water. 8/10/15
An early morning snack before retiring after a few hours of sunrise work on the dam that took some hits throughout the tough winter. 4/9/18
Have breakfast with your brother ! This pair of beavers appeared in front of me about 30 yards on this grass hummock. They spent 20 minutes eating fresh grass. It must be a change of pace from munching bark!
I haven't been into this pond in almost 2 years. Today I decided to hike in to see if my old beaver buddies were around. I was greeted by a huge '"ka--thump" before I could even see the dam and there were 2 of them ! After catching up for about 45 minutes I said good bye and left them alone..
Nope ! Not a UFO landing in a swamp. Its a beaver whacking his tail at me with his hind legs straight up in the air . They use this to scare away trouble and to alert the rest of the clan that danger may be coming.
I caught the last meal before retiring to the lodge for the day of this young beaver. He had a big bunch of tubers he dug up from the bottom and he never knew I was behind him watching. Simple stuff like this makes it worth getting wet for on rainy days.
The beginning of a big WHACK with the tail coming on !
Beavers amaze me. At between 7 and 7:30 each morning it seems they are programmed to head back to the lodge for the day. This one is taking his time in the rising sun.
After spending 4 or 5 months in their lodge while the winter howled away outside I’m glad to see beavers out and about again. This one came about to see who I was and give me a couple “howdy” slaps …then went on its way.
For some reason beavers are liking this spot to stop and feed for a few minutes. Here is a great shot of what a beaver tail looks like if you’ve never seen one close.
A quick hike in the rain into a favorite beaver pond this morning produced this guy eating a snack before retiring to the lodge today.
This beaver was eating water Lillies this morning before he hit the lodge for the day. He cleaned out one full patch in the pond You can see the stem of the one he just finished to the right.
“Who’s the lunk-head that put this here?….oh wait….I did!”
After 20 minutes or so, the beaver gave the goose what he thought it deserved…. a good tail slap in the face…. (see next photo)
The goose just took it! There is lots of power in a tail slap and the water sprays upwards of 15 feet. If you look closely you can see the beavers head just in front of the goose…
and today.....they started waving to me on the shore.... :).
While you are sleeping all night, this essential watershed engineer and his crew of 3 are keeping up an 8 acre body of water and watershed so hundreds of organisms from tadpoles to moose can have a wonderful place to live, feed and raise young. Thats why beavers are "keystone species". Because they run the show. Think about that.... :)
This goose has been chasing the beavers who have a lodge not 50 yards from where the geese decided to nest on and old, unused beaver lodge.
Although this beaver looks like he’s bitten off more than he can chew. He will come back again and again, or drag it to stash on their lodge.
After many hours of watching and photographing these beavers it finally happened ! They gave me the tail :)
Nothing like a good chunk of wood to start the day off right !
It’s been a while since I was interrogated by a yearling beaver! There were 3 of them in this colony all circling me up on the shoreline.