The weather recently has turned cold and heavily overcast with intermittent rain. The chill in the air reminds me that winter is coming and apparently the beavers at my local marshland park have been receiving the same signals.
One of my favorite places in the park is a small beaver pond in a remote area of the park. It is peaceful and quiet and there are some fallen logs on which I like to sit and just watch and listen.
As the summer progressed I grew increasingly uncertain about the inhabitants. Were they still there or had they moved? It looked like the dam that held in the water had been neglected and parts of it were deteriorating.
I am sill not certain that they are still in the lodge that you see in the second photo, but in the area surrounding that lodge, I’ve come across incontrovertible evidence that beavers have been busy—several dozen small and medium trees that have been removed and the toothmarks look fresh.
I’ll be keeping my eyes open for additional signs that the lodge is occupied or that another one is being built nearby as I return to this spot.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
It looks to me like they’re still there but beavers do move on after they’ve cut all of the trees they want.
These trees were all freshly cut and I think it’s a little late in the year for them to be moving. I’ll look closer to see if I can see any improvements to the lodge. i did see what looks to be some new branches sticking out of the water adjacent to the lodge. Last year there was a big pile there, giving them a ready supply of food for the rare occasions when the pond froze over.
I’ve yet to see a beaver in the wild. They were made extinct in Scotland and then recently reintroduced into a loch very near where we lived before we emigrated. Often on my walks around the loch, I would see signs of their presence but never once – not even in the evening – caught even a glimpse of one of them.
Looks like they’ve been quite busy. After having taken down several small trees, it’s amazing that there’s no chainsaw involved.
I’m amazed at how they can take down the bigger trees too. I would love to see them in action, but most of the activity takes place when I am snuggled in my warm bed.
They are truly amazing creatures, sadly they are running headlong in to the whole people thing…Thanks for sharing.
The good news for these beavers is that they are in a wetland park and they are not disturbing any human activities with their dam construction.
I’d love to see a beaver. I hope they haven’t gone and you get some photos of them
That last one looks like the beaver was attempting a work of art. Just curious, how big is that park?
The park is a bit over 1500 acres, partially surrounded by suburban area, though part of it is adjacent to a remote area of a military installation.