Disappointed: The Beaver Den

Last year, while on a weekend camping trip, my dad and I discovered a Beaver pond.  It had two well developed dams and a beautiful example of a Beaver den smack-dab in the middle of that pond.

I took a few photos, but because it was the last day of the weekend and I had to return to work, I didn’t get a chance to just sit on the complex.  I’ve thought about going back over there and taking more photos and also of getting photos of the Beavers as well.

This is how it appeared last year.

With the den in the middle of the pond.

The following photos are what I found Friday morning.

The dam above and below the den has been breeched.

Leaving the den to look like this.

This is the opening to the den, which typically would be below the waterline.  So, for whatever reason, this Beaver complex has been abandoned.

The Beaver Pond

Yesterday, I mentioned  I saw a mother duck with her ducklings swimming on a beaver pond.  The first thing we noticed had been the the beaver’s home, which looks like a pile of sticks.

Other signs around the pond pointed to a beaver’s handiwork, such as gnawed down trees.

The dam, or dam complex would be more correct, has been there for so long that it has become overgrown with vegetation.

Here’s another shot of the same section of the dam…

Unfortunately, we found this dam late on Saturday.  The sun and I were not in agreement and the shots are mostly into the sun.  Here’s a shot of the section of the dam leading to the house.

I’ll have to go back some morning and setup near the dam and see if I can get some shots of the residents.