December 15, 2024: A Whole New World

It was last December when I first noticed that beavers were constructing a new dam on the stream that flows out of the Hamlin Town Forest on the west side of Lake Wicwas (A Pond is Born, December 31, 2023).  At that point the beavers had already raised the water level by more than a foot.

Dec 2023:  Note the height of the rocks at the end of the stone wall entering the pond from the right.

Over the course of the past year I stopped by regularly to observe the changes the beavers were making to the area.  Come April, not much had changed other than a repair to the area that was overflowing on the left side of the dam in December.

The repair had brought the water level back up a few inches.

By June the beavers had made significant improvements to the dam, raising it and extending to the left enough to raise the water another six inches, which enlarged the pond significantly.

Note the stone wall now - only the last two stones are visible.

My next observation was in August:

August

Not much had changed other than lots of plant growth.  It was a fairly dry summer, so without much rain the water level wasn't at the top of their dam so they had little interest in raising it.

The last two rocks indicate a water level similar to June.

In October, with leaves off the trees, more of the pond was visible and I could see how large it had become.  

As the pond expanded, it flooded the roots of nearby trees resulting in their demise as shown buy the brown needles on the White Pines:

The trees on what is now an island died in less than a year.

When you see tall dead trees in the middle of a wet meadow you can be pretty confident the area was once a beaver pond - and may well be again in the future.

We remained very dry through November so the dam didn't need much attention, which gave the beavers time to work on gathering food and fortifying their lodge for winter. 

They built their lodge against a large boulder that is now an island.

And they cut down and brought out to their lodge enough trees for their entire winter food supply.  

That collection of branches in the water by the lodge is their winter pantry.

Where did all the building materials and foodstuff come from?

Here's the answer.

Larger trees were also felled and all the branches taken off and stuck in the mud beside the lodge.

There's not much left on the southwest side of the pond.

A year and a half ago this pond was just a wet meadow with a stream running through it.

My most recent visit was this past Thursday, after we received 2.7" of rain.  

Now the water level has risen and breached the top of the dam.

They've probably already been out to repair it - I'll know at my next visit.  One more detail:  Did you notice the tree right in the center of the dam on all the previous pictures?  Well, it won't be there much longer as they've started to take it down.  I'm not sure why they didn't finish.

Those last two rocks at the end of the stone wall have just about disappeared now.  Beavers in New Hampshire need four feet of water at their lodge to ensure their under-water entry hole won't freeze; they need to go in and out all winter for food, and maybe some dam and lodge repair.  I can only assume the beavers have created a pond large and deep enough to get them safely through the winter.  The pod cast "Something Wild" recently did a story titled "What's it Like Inside a Beaver Lodge?"  It's definitely worth a listen!

When beavers create a pond they give birth to an entire new world for dozens of plants and animals - probably more like hundreds.  Some of the obvious ones are the ducks, frogs, turtles, and another similar creatures we see, but also many other less visible animals that are associated with wetlands such as dragonflies, salamanders, and a multitude of other aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals.  It's truly a gift to so many species.

If you get out to the Hamlin Forest this winter be sure to check out this beaver pond as well as several others in that forest - there's always something interesting to see!

One last note:  The ice in some coves on Wicwas is 4" thick, enough for skating if you're careful, and the surface is fabulous.  If you go out, be sure to take the proper precautions and equipment, and check the ice thickness regularly.  

My friends the otter triplets were out enjoying it too - before it froze!

Yes, that's open water out there - be safe!

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!

November 10, 2013

A thin veneer of winter graced Lake Wicwas this morning.

The First Snow at Lake Wicwas

It was the first real sighting of white so far.  And amidst the gloom, a moment of brightness appeared and brightened the lake, for just a fleeting moment. 

Other than that, it's been a November day.

I also saw the first bit of ice on the lake on Saturday. 

The First Ice

There was only a skim in the marsh which must have been accelerated by radiational cooling, as even tiny puddles caught in the leaves under the tree cover were still liquid.

I took a trip up the beaver pond on the Blue Trail to see if the beaver had come back to collect its wood that got hung up in a tree (see October 27).  It had - the tree was gone.  However, it still hadn't learned its trigonometry, as it had left another one caught in a tree!

Here is where all that wood goes:

Beaver Dam on the Blue Trail

This dam may be 30 or 40 yards long, and being up to four feet high, there are a lot of branches and trunks in there.

This is the back side of the dam in one spot where it is visible.

In addition to seeing the signs of deer marking their territory, there are a lot of other animals doing the same thing right now.  The fox leave their signs prominently on rocks, logs, and other exposed areas.

Fox Scat

The muskrat do the same on rocks at the water edge.

Muskrat Scat

They are all notices to others that this piece of hunting ground is claimed!

This is a time of year when Lake Wicwas can be quite beautiful,

but mostly...   it's November....