Sherwood Beaver Update - May 6, 2012

Well so far the culvert protection fence is working better than anticipated.  Clearing the culverts dropped the level of the basin anywhere from 1-2 feet as witnessed by this clump of grass.

The low water level in the basin has revealed at least a half dozen leaks along 150 feet of dam.  These leaks were what filled the basin and prompted the beavers to originally block the culverts. 

The sound of running water from at least three of the leaks, is sufficiently fast and loud enough to alert the beavers.  However, they are doing nothing about them, probably because there is no way for them to effectively deal with them.

We expected the beavers to begin damming around the fence, but it the half dozen leaks are resulting in a significant outflow, both in volume and sound. This is what currently has their attention.

You may remember that right after the installation, they make a pretty good attempt to block the outflow, but seemed to give up.  I cleared that first attempt and began watching their reaction.  This animation shows three days worth of activity at the culvert. I'll continue the watch in the coming days.

My Bushnell Trophy Camera arrived yesterday.  I've been working with it to determine the best settings and to get a feel for the range and triggering sensitivity.
Right now my house cats are the subjects of my studies, but within a few days, I'll see if I can position it to catch the beavers in action around the outflow of the culvert.