About eighteen months ago the beavers at my local marsh moved out of the lodge right under the boardwalk to a more inaccessible location. Since then I’ve tried several times to catch sight of them at dusk and at dawn, but have been largely unsuccessful.
However, this past Monday I got lucky when one of the resident North American Beavers (Castor canadensis) appeared an hour or so before sunset and chewed on some sticks for a short time before returning to the warmth of its lodge.
I waited and waited as the sun dropped lower on the horizon to see if any other members of the beaver family would make an appearance. Eventually another beaver emerged and started swimming around the small area of open water outside of the lodge—most of the rest of the pond was still frozen. The limited light made it difficult to capture a shot of the swimming beaver and in the third shot it almost looks like the shadowy beaver is swimming in the clouds.
Unfortunately the beaver had to end its swim prematurely when it was dive bombed by a small flock of ducks that had spotted the open water and decided it was the perfect place to make a landing. Alas, I did not get shots of the beaver’s reaction—I suspect that the beaver was a bit surprised to be attacked from the air.
The final shot shows the beaver lodge, which can be seen through the bushes from the boardwalk. Fortunately there is a nearby two-story observation deck that overlooks the pond and gives a clearer line of sight to the lodge. It was from that deck that I was able to take these shots.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Good work, Mike; your persistence pays off yet again. I like the way the beaver is side-lit with the sinking, golden sun, and the swim in the clouds is so much fun!
Beaver are so interesting. Nice photos.
I so appreciate you waiting in the cold to shoot these fantastic shots, Mike. It is not easy to capture beavers and you did a wonderful job in spite of the dwindling light and freezing temperatures.
Any shot of a beaver is a good one. Years ago I used to spend many hours sitting and waiting for them to get used to me but I never once got one on film. They’re pretty wary animals. Maybe your added height worked to your advantage.
Nice work — you are really getting good at spotting those beavers late in the day. I’m just not brave enough to stay out in the frigid cold waiting for them to make an appearance.