Yesterday evening I took my equipment and sat in the blustery wind to watch for the emergence of beavers from their lodge in the pond in the Wet Wood. Each flurry of wind ruffled the water and raised my hopes, but none came. A roe deer walked through the trees in the distance and a rabbit loped out. Above me wood pigeons raced home to roost on the north-westerly gale. Some crows slogged by.
This photograph shows very clearly the way that beavers buttress their dams.
The water level of this area has been raised considerably by the dams
The first signs of growth are beginning to show. The reed canary grass is putting those purplish shoots and a wetland forget me not is growing some leaves. The beavers and other herbivores must be very grateful for this new vegetation. Reed canary grass is often thought of a an aggressive coloniser at the expense of other aquatic plants, but it is serving a valuable purpose here.
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