January 8, 2023: Arbutus Hill Pond Beavers

In early December I noted a lot of beaver activity at Arbutus Hill Pond in the Eames Conservation Area (accessed via the Hamlin/Eames trailhead) so this week I took a walk back up to explore further now that the pond is frozen.  I found that the main beaver lodge has been well maintained, and a second lodge has been added to neighborhood.  

Two active beaver lodges at Arbutus Hill Pond.

This might explain all the activity this fall:  They needed building materials as well as food to sustain an expanding, multi-generational family network.  Larger branches from the trees they felled were used for lodge construction while the smaller branches and twigs were taken for winter food.  Beavers don't typically eat hemlock trees, but they are smart enough to know if they cut them down it will leave space and light for their preferred species to grow.  One homeowner even got into the holiday spirit and used hemlock to erect a Christmas tree on their lodge.

As the population grows beavers need a larger pond to support them and they've been busy on this aspect as well.  The beaver dam on the west side of the pond has been elevated to enlarge the pond, which also required lengthening it so the water wouldn't spill around the ends of the dam.  

Looking south along the dam.

The same point looking north.  The water level below the dam is perhaps three feet lower.

With no snow on the ground when I was there I could easily see the entire dam which I estimate to be 250' in length.

The pink line is the dam, the blue line is the extent of the wetland.  The white line is the hiking trail.  

I think there may be a second dam at the west point of the wetland - something to look for on a future visit.  Winter does make exploring wetlands much easier, though one must be careful of thin spots where there's moving water and beaver paths, especially with all the recent warm weather.  If you would like to visit you can find a trail map at the kiosk or on the Meredith Conservation Commission website.

In mid December we decided it was safe to put the bird feeders out for the winter and it was interesting to watch how long it took different birds to find it.  Within minutes a blue jay was on the feeder, but that was all on the first day.  Surprisingly it took until the second day for the chickadees to show up.  

Our first chickadee on the feeder.

By day three there were a bunch of chickadees, and on day four too many to count, as well as five gray squirrels.  On day seven a red-bellied woodpecker appeared.  It only spent a few seconds on the feeder before it flew off to explore every tree trunk in the yard looking for fresher food.  It's such a pretty bird I hope it returns often.  That same day the first white-breasted nuthatch made its appearance.  Since then there have been many nuthatches, following their usual routine of shoveling seeds out onto the ground until they can get to a great big juicy seed or nut.  Two days later we saw the first downy woodpecker, followed shortly by it's larger relative, the hairy woodpecker.

A hairy woodpecker selects a choice seed.

And it looks like it's going to be a big year for gray squirrels.  One day there were 14 of them in the yard, mostly staying on their own designated feeders and taking advantage of the nuthatches discarded seeds. 

With the low production of acorns this year I expect a lot of squirrels will be looking for handouts.  Maybe the bobcat will switch from venison to squirrel.  He may get a bird or two as well, but they are pretty good escape artists.

We received a couple of inches of snow on Friday, and fresh snow on a heavy overcast day always brings great contrasting scenes.

It even made me notice these tiny self-heal plants, standing in stark contrast against the white snow. 

Dried self-heal blossoms (Prunella vulgaris) poking up above the thin snow cover.

I've walked by these a dozen times in the past few months and never noticed them.  Their dried flowers remind me of hop cones - the kind used in making beer.

At least with Friday's snow the remnants of the deer are covered up - and it looks like winter again.

I hope this finally means a change to a winter weather pattern!