English Beaver (1 Viewer)

Telephoto Paul · Mar 24, 2015

So beavers are back in the River Otter, after they were confirmed to be both of the Eurasian variety and disease free. They'll now be monitored during a five year trial.

http://www.theguardian.com/environm...ld-beavers-returned-to-their-devon-river-home

The results are going to be pretty interesting and important to the future of beavers in England. Compared to the Scottish trial, the location is less remote, so it should reveal more about beaver-human conflict (or hopefully, the lack of)

Farnboro John · Mar 25, 2015

Telephoto Paul said:
So beavers are back in the River Otter, after they were confirmed to be both of the Eurasian variety and disease free. They'll now be monitored during a five year trial.

http://www.theguardian.com/environm...ld-beavers-returned-to-their-devon-river-home

The results are going to be pretty interesting and important to the future of beavers in England. Compared to the Scottish trial, the location is less remote, so it should reveal more about beaver-human conflict (or hopefully, the lack of)

The River Otter is no more or less remote than the Tay basin around Blairgowrie, which is where the significant Scottish Beaver population is based. And as has been said before, Scotland and England are contiguous: if Scotland has Beavers England and Wales will sooner or later have Beavers. The Scottish Beaver trial is once for all for the island of Great Britain, and don't let anyone try to tell you different. The permission to remain given to the Otter Beavers (confused? You will be!) essentially recognises that, and I rather suspect hints strongly at what the findings of the Scottish trial are going to be.

John

King Edward · Mar 25, 2015

I suspect that the Tay Beaver population has got to the point where removal is not politically feasible. Considering the amount of fuss made over the proposed removal of the Otter Beavers, and when one of the Tay Beavers was captured and subsequently died in captivity, any proposal to remove 250+ healthy animals from the Tay isn't going to go down very well. Presumably these would have to be killed as well, as I don't see where you could realistically house such a large number in captivity. The population is also growing exponentially at something like a doubling every 3 years, so the longer the 'final' decision on the Beavers' future is postponed the less realistic eradication becomes.

Human-Beaver conflict on the Tay seems to have been limited so far, I think because they initially occupy the larger rivers where dam building is unnecessary. That will change though as the population grows and they spread out to the smaller streams, where dam building and consequent flooding will become more common.

Farnboro John · Mar 25, 2015

King Edward said:
I suspect that the Tay Beaver population has got to the point where removal is not politically feasible. Considering the amount of fuss made over the proposed removal of the Otter Beavers, and when one of the Tay Beavers was captured and subsequently died in captivity, any proposal to remove 250+ healthy animals from the Tay isn't going to go down very well. Presumably these would have to be killed as well, as I don't see where you could realistically house such a large number in captivity. The population is also growing exponentially at something like a doubling every 3 years, so the longer the 'final' decision on the Beavers' future is postponed the less realistic eradication becomes.

Human-Beaver conflict on the Tay seems to have been limited so far, I think because they initially occupy the larger rivers where dam building is unnecessary. That will change though as the population grows and they spread out to the smaller streams, where dam building and consequent flooding will become more common.

I'm not sure you are right as they are already on the small streams as well. Interestingly anglers are coming around to them as the Beavers don't like Otters in their territories and do things like blocking Otter holts with logs!

Undoubtedly it will take humans a while to learn how to live with Beavers in Britain. But I have no doubt it will be a success.

John

King Edward · Mar 25, 2015

Farnboro John said:
I'm not sure you are right as they are already on the small streams as well.

Yes, I'm sure some are already, but the larger rivers are their preferred habitat so those get occupied first. I was referring to the results of the survey carried out in 2012 - SNH Commissioned Report 540 - Distribution, Population and Activities of Beavers in Tayside. Obviously that survey's 2.5 years out of date now so the population will have almost doubled and activity on small streams will have gone up since then. To quote from the main findings though - they estimated 38-39 separate groups, of which only 3 had built dams. 2 of these 3 groups were causing problems to landowners. Over time,I think it's inevitable that the % of dam-building, stream living beavers will increase compared to the 2012 situation.

The Otter interaction is interesting - overall I'd think the effect of Beavers on Otters would be positive due to the improved habitat and food supply from dam building.

Jos Stratford · Mar 26, 2015

King Edward said:
The Otter interaction is interesting - overall I'd think the effect of Beavers on Otters would be positive due to the improved habitat and food supply from dam building.

In times of ice cover (which is several months here in Lithuania, but obviously less relevant in the UK), Beavers are of critical importance to Otters - they access waters otherwise inaccessible by climbing through beaver lodges and entering the water via the underwater entrances. I always wondered how Otters survived the winters here, till I videoed Otters doing just this on my land, then subsequently spoke to a mammal ecologist that confirmed this is usual behaviour.

As for human-beaver conflict, there is certain to be some - not perhaps so much by the limited flooding caused, but by the removal of trees. If you are a landowner with river frontage, it is quite possible you will lose ALL all your trees adjacent to beaver-occupied rivers. The only trees that survived along one drainage ditch on my land were those that I protected by chainlink, while in my forest area in general, beavers have flooded an area of several hectares leading to all trees already dead or in advanced stages of doing so. Around this hollow, a further zone of birches in particular have been removed by the animals themselves. If I were to view this as a commercial forest, the economic loss would be significant.

I manage the area for conservation and in the short term they certainly add to habitat diversity, the dead and dying trees very good for woodpeckers etc, the newly opened-out woodland now being colonised by reeds and related birds. At this local scale however, even I have doubts as tot he long-term benefit - in a period of years, what was a rich deciduous woodland (full of Pied Flycatchers, Golden Orioles, woodpeckers, etc, etc) will be replaced by a shallow expanse of water with a far smaller number of birds, etc, present. Thus, at a wider scale, no issue, but at a local scale, there can be.

King Edward · Mar 26, 2015

Are you able to post any pictures of the habitat effects of beavers on your land?

Jos Stratford said:
I manage the area for conservation and in the short term they certainly add to habitat diversity, the dead and dying trees very good for woodpeckers etc, the newly opened-out woodland now being colonised by reeds and related birds. At this local scale however, even I have doubts as tot he long-term benefit - in a period of years, what was a rich deciduous woodland (full of Pied Flycatchers, Golden Orioles, woodpeckers, etc, etc) will be replaced by a shallow expanse of water with a far smaller number of birds, etc, present. Thus, at a wider scale, no issue, but at a local scale, there can be.

Surely the open-water pond stage can be considered medium term, rather than long term - in the longer term it should become more silted and vegetated and develop perhaps as beaver meadow or regenerating forest. So perhaps not so great for forest birds, but good for a lot of other species including wetland plants, amphibians, bats and invertebrates.

What I think might be challenging in Britain is looking at conservation more in terms of natural habitats under the influence of natural disturbance and successional processes, and less as carefully defined man-made 'semi-natural' habitats maintained in a fairly static state by deliberate management.

Jos Stratford · Mar 26, 2015

King Edward said:
Surely the open-water pond stage can be considered medium term, rather than long term.

My long term is probably as you term medium term :t:

But yes, the general habitat is one of progression under beavers - I mourn the loss of very good deciduous woodland, but accept that it is merely an evolving habitat.

In the last few years, Little Crake, Bittern, Crane, Water Rails, etc, etc have all occurred in what was previously a well-canopied piece of woodland. To compensate, I am allowing adjacent meadow to regenerate - in ten years, this has gone from open meadow to trees already supporting breeding Pied Flycatchers, Icterine Warblers, etc, etc. So swings and roundabouts ...but, as said, if I were interested in the woodland for commercial reasons, the Beavers would be removed.

PS. yes, will dig out some photographs of their impact.

King Edward · Mar 26, 2015

Look forward to seeing the photos - some of the regenerating meadow/woodland would be interesting as well.

I do think that there are a great many species that could potentially benefit from beaver recolonisation/reintroduction, such as the wetland birds you mention. Grass Snakes are another (both in the pond and wet meadow stages), and Water Voles which might have a better chance of avoiding Mink predation in a more structurally complex habitat compared to linear river/stream banks.

Out of interest, how are Pied Flycatchers breeding in such young woodland?

Farnboro John · Mar 27, 2015

King Edward;3190528 The Otter interaction is interesting - overall I'd think the effect of Beavers on Otters would be positive due to the improved habitat and food supply from dam building.[/QUOTE said:
Yes: just shows that interactions are more complex than we think. Both species are territorial: both are of a size: and Beavers seem to think Otters might be interested in predating their young - at any rate they won't tolerate them near, they move them on and try to prevent them settling down nearby.

Beavers certainly will have the positive effects on the landscape that you describe (one hopes anglers will understand and appreciate it, but they can be a bit bone....) but for Otters and Beavers together the actual balance point is more subtle.

John

Jos Stratford · Mar 28, 2015

King Edward said:
Look forward to seeing the photos

This VIDEO shows where an Otter accesses water beneath ice via a beaver lodge on my land - it is at the end of the four-minute video and, though it might not look like it, the snowy lump with trees protruding is actually a very large beaver lodge ...the Otter was using a hole just behind where it is standing in this brief clip.

Jos Stratford · Mar 28, 2015

A typical image of beaver action on my woodland...

The lodge is just visible in the background, the woodland if flooded (and most of these trees are now dead) and the branches being transported to the woodland edge are in the foreground. Behind me as I took this, almost no large trees remain standing.

Jos Stratford · Mar 28, 2015

1. Early stage occupation by beavers.
2. Late stage occupation by beavers.

Jos Stratford · Mar 28, 2015

King Edward said:
Look forward to seeing the photos - some of the regenerating meadow/woodland would be interesting as well.

Out of interest, how are Pied Flycatchers breeding in such young woodland?

I hang nestboxes in the rapidly growing trees, also a Wryneck in one of these boxes last year. My earlier post was not perhaps completely clear - I have owned the land for ten years, but the regeneration is probably close to 20 years in total, agriculture was abandoned at this site soon after the collapse of the Soviet system. Ten years ago, it was mostly open meadow, but with good clumps of trees already quite tall. Since then, I still maintain the patchwork, but trees are now ten metres and more.

Xenospiza · Mar 28, 2015

To put it into the perspective of a heavily populated country where it is impossible not to run into people:

In the Netherlands, Beavers have now spread along all major rivers (reintroductions) and through the province of Flevoland (originally from an animal park): http://waarneming.nl/soort/maps/375?from=2014-03-28&to=2015-03-28.
The negative impact of beavers was decribed by Vreugdenhil et al. (in Dutch).
The population in the northeast (smaller rivers) is causing trouble by building dams. The use of drainage pipes (beaver deceivers) can solve this, but it is apparently rather difficult to do this correctly.
Damage to agriculture is apparently mostly limited to sites less than 10 m from water. Sugar beet is a good distraction.
Other issues include damage to dykes (not welcome at all!): making these "dig-proof" and offering alternative dry ground during floods, which is not disturbed by people or dogs, can prevent this.
The modification of desired habitat into "wrong" habitat is mentioned as well, but this has not been dealt with yet.
The amount of damage is limited: at the moment at most a few €1000/year for 600 beavers (millions are spent on exterminating nutrias and musk rats, which is useless as Germany does not appear to control these at all).

King Edward · Mar 29, 2015

Jos,
Thanks for putting the photos up. The (dead) trees all look fairly young - is this because the area was previously felled for timber? Have you noticed much aquatic life starting to use the flooded areas (other than birds)?

Jos Stratford · Mar 29, 2015

King Edward said:
Jos,
Thanks for putting the photos up. The (dead) trees all look fairly young - is this because the area was previously felled for timber? Have you noticed much aquatic life starting to use the flooded areas (other than birds)?

In this area, naturally damp, it is (was) mostly alder woodland - I think 'standard age' trees. In the drier areas (not in the photograph), the mix is more varied - ash, oak and birch common. In this drier area, beavers make sorties into the areas close to water with frequency - hazel always gets chomped whenever it gets to any reasonable size, birch and alder go too (all large unprotected trees have long gone), but oaks are not touched.

Birds are the obvious species colonising the flooded areas, but a lot of frogs too, Grass Snakes occasionally, etc. But generally, frogs are abundant here anyhow, there is rarely a shortage of small pools in this landscape.

jurek · Mar 29, 2015

Some info from Poland, where both beavers and otters are common:

I never heard about any direct interactions between otter and beaver, except possibly ignoring each other, although both occupy the same waters.

Beavers are very positive to fish, anglers, otters, kingfishers, water birds and all small water life. They both create small waters and make water edge more natural (branches sunken in water, shallow places etc). People in Poland often fish in beaver pools.

Beavers do some damage, mostly by flooding pieces of agricultural land, secondarily by felling waterside trees and eating some waterside crops. There are good manuals to control it. When protecting trees with metal wire one needs to make sure that beavers are not able to press the mesh against the tree and gnaw this way.

Until recently, any problem beaver families were simply caught and released in beaver-less areas as a part of reintroduction strategy. This worked for half a century or more, until beavers became established virtually everywhere with suitable habitat.

Currently beavers can be exterminated with permission on fish ponds (they don't eat fish but drill burrows in banks). Making beavers game animals was not popular, due to peculiarities of Polish hunting law. Making beavers game animals would shift responsibility for compensations from the state to the hunting clubs.

Xenospiza · Mar 29, 2015

jurek said:
Making beavers game animals was not popular, due to peculiarities of Polish hunting law. Making beavers game animals would shift responsibility for compensations from the state to the hunting clubs.

The hunting law is similar in Germany.
I assume the farmers that are reporting ever increasing damage (e.g. in Bavaria, which has 12000 beavers) will make sure they will remain protected (so the states will have to pay)!

Jos Stratford · Mar 30, 2015

Beaver can be hunted August through to April in Lithuania, I think both by traps and shooting. Doesn't seem to impact the population, having reestablished themselves across the country, they are abundant and occur virtually everywhere. I can be wrong, but I am pretty sure there is no compensation scheme for damages caused by Beavers.

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