HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - WALNEY POND

 A favorite spot when we come here. There is a bench under the trees which offers welcoming shade. 

No sign of the beaver, and the beaver lodge nearby looks a bit dismantled. I am wondering if they have moved on. 

We have been thoroughly entertained on previous trips (not the last few times) and have watched them swimming and diving under the water. They are herbivores and like to eat the leaves, shoots, roots and even the seed capsules of the waterlilies. You can see them at this link from our visit in July 2021, which is where I found the above photo.

Looking across from the other side of the pond. The pathway goes all the way around.

We were here on the 19th June. The weather was lovely. I think the temperature was about 80 degrees. F. (26 degrees C. (?)). The heat didn't bother me as it wasn't humid. My dear other half, being a southern Virginia lad his whole life, let's just say the more heat and humidity, the better he likes it. It is the humidity that will turn me into a puddle. (As I type this at 2.29 p.m. on 6-25-25, it is currently 93 degrees F. (34 degrees C.) and I hear thunder - a few degrees cooler than yesterday. For the next few days we will be having thunderstorms and showers, so I don’t think we will be going for walks.

I have started using my cell phone full-time for photo taking. When I need to get a closer look to something far away, I ask Gregg for the camera with the zoom lens. He uses it mostly because a) he enjoys taking photos too and b) it's a bit too heavy for me to carry. He jokingly tells me he is my porter/Jeeves. He bought me a shorter lanyard for my phone that goes around my wrist, and I hardly notice it when I am walking along, until I need that photo. 

The plant is a Common buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). The buttonbush is moderately toxic to humans and toxins can be found in the entire plant. It is a native to the United States and is a magnet for pollinators. Besides the bee you will find butterflies and hummingbirds enjoying the buttonbush.

The following is called Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) and native to the United States. It is found in marshes and along the borders of muddy ponds, which is where we found this one. I have only seen it grow in the wild but it can be cultivated for the garden or as a house plant. Also, it is non-toxic to humans and pets, not considered a weed and likes full sun. 

I always enjoy finding out the origins of plants name histories if I can. My plant app - PictureThis - says the name is a tribute to the 16th-century Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera. The genus name was given to recognize Pontedera's contributions to botany. 'Cordata' refers to the plant's heart-shaped leaves, with 'cordate' meaning heart-shaped in Latin. Commonly known as 'pickerelweed', it likely derives its name from its popularity as a hiding spot for pickerel, a type of fish, as they seek shelter amongst its leaves and stems in their natural aquatic habitat.

I have other photos but will share them another day.

Thanks for looking, and I hope your day is a great one. 

BACK AT THE POND...AMERICAN BEAVER

This photo was taken as we were sitting under the trees.  We have our favorite spots in various places and this is one of them at the pond.  

It also happens to be next to where a lot of activity was going on.  A channel of water had been excavated, and a narrow dam was being built.  I have seen much larger ones elsewhere, but this seemed to suit his needs.

Our beaver is the largest rodent in North America, and here he comes.

At first he was bringing back big mouthfuls of mud to pack down the top of his lodge, as his soggy, wet, muddy face attested to.

After watching him several times press the mud packs down on what would have been his lodge roof, adding caked mud on top of other caked mud, he then started bringing back larger twigs and leaf matter to build his dam. The next photo shows him from a different angle, as we approached on the other side of the pond when we first arrived. You can see his paddle-like tail sticking out of the water.He keeps a wary eye on us at the same time, but we don't move from the bench and we had our zoom lens to take these photos.  We found it interesting that he chose a spot near to where people walked along the path, also excited children who were getting their first look at an American Beaver.  Many of those people, just like us, had come to see him.  We talked to several who were delighted that they were back.  I think the park people are letting them stay for a while.  Several well-established trees around the pond had a frame of wire mesh at their base.  To protect their trunks from sharp teeth no doubt.  There are plenty of trees in the woods on which they can nibble.More back and forth going on, not stopping at all.

At one time we saw him disappear in a sea of green weed.  Before that he was in the middle of the pond nibbling on water lily roots.

It took us a few seconds to realize that the big clump of green floating towards us had something underneath.

Out popped a nose! This plant is called Common pondweed, also called Yankee weed, Canadian waterweed, Water thyme, American pondweed, to name a few.  It is native to North America but considered an invasive species in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa…

as it has been widely sold in the aquarium industry for its oxygenating properties.  Unfortunately, in the wild it outcompetes native plants, clogs up rivers and streams, and drainage channels, also obstructing boats.  

Not good news at all but the beavers love it here, so in that sense it is helping our environment, I hope? More research on that subject is needed.  You can read more here.  There is also an interesting pdf file at this link on what they eat.

As we observed them during our time spent on the bench, we realized we were actually seeing two, a male and female. We saw them swimming together briefly.  Someone had also seen two babies but there were none visible to us. As mentioned earlier, our very talented, dam-building Beaver is the largest rodent in all of North America. They have a wide variance in terms of size. They can range from 33 to 75 pounds depending on where they live and what they have to eat. They usually average about 45 pounds and the males are larger than the females. 

Anyway, we could have stayed there for another hour but it was time to move on.  Other people arrived at the pond and sat down as soon as we left.

I found the following illustration online. You can enlarge any of my photos and diagram to see them more clearly.  

This website has great photos and fun facts.  I read the following:

"Beavers are like little submarines.  They can stay under the water for 15 minutes.  Their lips close behind their teeth allowing them to hold a branch with their teeth, swim under water and not drown.  And they have a set of transparent eyelids that cover their eyes as they swim, much like we would wear goggles underwater.  While submarines have propulsion systems to help them move in the water, beavers have webbed feet to propel them."

There was another visit last month that I haven't shared yet, but I will wait awhile before I do.  

I daresay we'll be going back to see how they are in a week or two.  It has been very enjoyable watching their progress so far.

WHAT DID WE SEE AT THE POND?

North American Beaver!

Our little friend Seraphina (from yesterday's post) had been looking in this direction.  Lily pads were covering a good part of the pond.  It grows considerably each year and the petals close up in the evening.  In the center, after adjusting our eyes, we finally saw movement.

Another furry friend was having a feast of water lily shoots.   At other times we have watched them dive and resurface a couple of minutes later, with those shoots between their claws.  

This is the beaver we saw for the first time a few weeks ago.  They had been absent for two or three years, and rumor had it that they had been removed.  I don't know if this was true, but their lodge was nowhere to be seen and every time we visited, we looked for these industrious little animals to no avail.  Other visitors we talked to had wondered the same thing.  In the photo below you can make out that famous 'paddle' tail. There is a reed on it.

Happiness for everyone I spoke to, on our previous visit and this one, to find them back at the pond.  Our North American Beaver had returned, not only one but three others.  There was a mate and two babies.  People told us they had seen the babies, but we saw the parents and that was wonderful.  The mother is considerably smaller than the male we were told by a knowledgeable man who had been taking photos also.

This fellow photographer was very generous with his information.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  There will be another post on our encounter as soon as I can put it together.  Enjoy your weekend!

I WAS HOPING WE WOULD SEE HIM....

 and we settled down on another vacant bench and waited quietly.The waterlily pads were plentiful, though the actual waterlilies had closed up for the night.  Still very beautiful!

This was our view. 

There was a splash and we saw a body, a tail and a flip as something slid under the water. 

It was our North American Beaver, which I have mentioned several times before.  (Some of my info may be a repeat.)

Our North American beaver is the largest rodent in North America, and is the second largest in the world behind the South American capybara, though smaller I believe than the Eurasian variety.   You can read about the reintroduction of the North American beaver to Europe here.

The North American beaver is semiaquatic.  The back feet are webbed while the front feet are smaller, clawed and dexterous.  They have membranes that cover their eyes to see while submerged.  It also has the ability to seal its nostrils and ears under the water, and capable of gnawing under water by keeping their lips closed behind their front teeth.

There it goes, disappearing among the lilypads.  We only had a few minutes to enjoy but we will remember to return at the same time.  They are more active later in the day.

There is more information at this website.  

We saw one turtle at the pond (right-hand side of the above photo resting on the raft).  There were also butterflies which I will share next time.  It is always very pleasant here and we go back often.

Thanks for looking and I hope you day is a great one.

NORTH AMERICAN BEAVER AT WALNEY POND - FROM MY OLD BLOG POST DATED 6-5-09

This is an old post from my original blog (long since closed).  I am slowly transferring all my old posts to this one.  Today shows the North American Beaver that we used to see regularly on our visits to Walney Pond.  These were from June 5th, 2009.  The lodge has disappeared since, whether it was dismantled or removed by nature, I don't know.

Described as "Nature's Little Engineer", the North American Beaver is considered to be the second largest rodent in the world (after the capybara).  Beavers are primarily nocturnal, though we saw ours in the early evening and still in the daylight hours.  From what I read, they are split into two extant species of the North American and Eurasian variety, with location of birth being the only real difference between the two.  Beavers generally have a large body and small head (like most rodents), a broad, flat and scaly tail and webbed hind feet.  Due to their small ocular cavities and nocturnal lifestyle, beavers have poor eyesight, but possess enhanced senses of hearing, touch and smell.

Living off an herbivore's diet of wood from quaking aspen trees, cottonwood tree, alder trees, willow trees, birch trees, maple trees, cherry trees, pondweed, sedges and water lilies, beavers can grow up to 55 lbs. (25 kg) before they pass away at around 24 years of age.  Often female beavers will grow larger than the male, which is uncommon amongst mammals.

The person who coined the phrase "Busy as a Beaver" was spot on.  He or she very industriously chewed on the lily pads off their stems and either ate them right there, or swam to shore and took them back to a spot underneath a tree.  He immediately came back and repeated the process dozens of times.

Online I read: "Beavers who inhabit smaller streams or ponds will make lodges so they can be active all winter and as a defense against predators.  The lodge will be made primarily of mud and branches."

"A beaver's front feet have five fingers and are very skilled at manipulating objects.  They can take a twig no bigger than a pencil, and twirl it around like a corn on the cob as they nibble off the bark."

"A semi-aquatic animal, beavers can stay under water as long as 15 minutes when necessary, and often do so when startled or frightened.  When in danger in the water, a beaver will rapidly dive under the surface by slapping its wide tail on the water.  The sound will be audible over a large area, warning other beavers, who will also dive down and avoid trouble.  Despite this amazing defense mechanism, they are far more well known for their natural ability and propensity towards making dams on rivers and steams.  Beavers prefer to live in mini-ponds, so in the absence of these small bodies of water, they will make their own.  Using their powerful front teeth (which grow continuously to avoid being worn down, are self sharpened almost into chisels, and are composed of hard orange enamel in the front and softer dentin in the back), beavers will cut trees and plants to both build and eat.  They will then make two vertical posts in the water, then fill that in with a crisscross of branches, weeds and mud, until the dam impounds enough water to make a "lodge".  Beavers are also known to make canals in the water in order to transport materials that they otherwise couldn't move over land."  Below is a diagram I found of what a lodge looks like inside.

If you want to learn more how the beaver builds its lodge and dams, there is a great YouTube video called "Beaver Lodge Construction Squad" from David Attenborough's BBC Earth.  Link here if you would like to take a look.

"The front teeth (incisors) of a beaver, or any other rodent, grow throughout the life of the animal.  The front surface of the incisors is made of a very hard enamel that is dull orange in color.  Since the back part of the tooth is not as hard, it wears off first, resulting in a chisel-like shape which for a beaver is perfect for the task of felling trees and stripping their bark.  A lone beaver can fell an 8-foot tree in 5 minutes."

"Beavers are highly social animals.  They live in family groups consisting of the parents and young of the year and two-year old offspring.  Litter sizes average three, so a family of eight beavers would not be uncommon."

Finally, our beaver retreated to shore.  We watched as it stood on its hind legs and chewed off a few lower branches off the tree, and then disappeared out of sight.