See the current 2009 Beaver diary here

2006 Beaver diary: The Beavers Have Arrived!

Aigas Field Centre is delighted to announce that on Friday 14th April, 2006 a pair of Eurasian beavers were safely delivered into their new home on the loch at Aigas. The habitat within the enclosure is perfect for beavers with a large freshwater loch fringed by wet deciduous woodland. As a member of the Scottish Beaver Network, Aigas Field Centre has commenced this demonstration project to allow visitors to the centre to view beavers in their wild surroundings in the Scottish Highlands.

To maximise viewing opportunities we have constructed a comfortable loch-side hide. Over the past month over 100 visitors to the field centre have succesfully visited the hide and watched with fascination as the beavers toiled away. They have already felled a few small diameter birch and willow trees.

These are the first beavers in their natural habitat in the Highlands for 450 years. We hope that as summer approaches and the days lengthen, dusk visits to our hide will provide guests with the unique opportunity of watching beavers in Scotland. There will be excellent viewing and photographic opportunities of these fascinating aquatic mammals in their “wild” surroundings. Join one of our 2006 programmes to be amongst the first to see them beavering away at Aigas!

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April 2006

As the beavers acclimatised to their new surroundings we watched periodically from the hide and were rewarded with some great views. We made some fascinating observations as the animals swam, fed, groomed and generally lazed about on the surface. We witnessed them lying in the water for some time prior to emerging onto the bank - they appear to be checking that the coast is clear before coming ashore. We also watched with fascination as they sat gnawing at some willow sticks on the bank. Their front paws are very prehensile giving them a very human-like form!

Monday 1st May

We started watching tonight at 7.45pm and saw our first beaver at 8pm. They have an uncanny ability to suddenly appear at the far end of the loch without us realising they are there! They seem to like the boggy ground at the far end of the loch, they stay near the water and are surrounded by trees which must give them a sense of security. The second beaver arrived at about 8.30pm and the pair were seen feeding on willow sticks and aquatic vegetation. One of the pair was beavering away moving quite a lot of mud from the bottom to the bank - on later inspection this mud contained water lily rhizomes.

Tuesday 3rd May

Beaver watch starts at 8pm. The first beaver is spotted at 8.40 swimming across the middle of the loch. At 9pm, both beavers appear and seem to feed on aquatic vegetation at the back of the loch, giving great views from the hide. One comes ashore to groom at 9.20 and stays on the bank feeding and grooming until 9.45.

Tuesday 9th May

Tonight staff naturalist Glen Campbell led the watch which started at 8.00pm. With 9 people in the hide anticipation grew and the first beaver was sighted at 9.20pm. There is still good light at this time and so the group enjoyed excellent views as the second beaver also emerged and started on her nights work.

Wednesday 10th May

The watch tonight started at 8.45pm with JLK, MLK, IE, JG, two guests and beaver expert Gerhard Schwab and wife Regina all in attendance. We spotted our first beaver at  9.45pm and as the light began to fade we got some tantalising views of both beavers on the bank together, grooming side by side.

Thursday 11th May

IE led the watch tonight with 3 guests. We arrived with our tea basket at 8.15pm. The first beaver was spotted at 9.15pm in excellent light. We got some wonderful views of this one as he lounged on the surface near the entrance to their self-built lodge. He was soon joined by his mate and they seemed to lie on the surface just yards apart gazing into each others eyes! One disappeared and the other continued to swim around and periodically dive. We presumed that this was probably feeding behaviour although it was in a deeper part of the loch where we would not expect much in the way of vegetation. Later, we saw both beavers simultaneously again but they seem to operate independently for most of the time. We contiuned to get good views until the light faded them out at about 10.20pm. Another great nights viewing!

Mid May - Aigas staff visit Norwegian beavers:

In mid-May Sir John Lister-Kaye led a mini fact-finding expedition to beaver country near Trondheim in Norway.  Taking Dr Ieuan Evans, Field Officer and Staff Naturalist Glen Campbell, with the generous help of Dr Duncan Halley of Nina Niku, the Norwegian Nature Conservancy, they were able to stay at Songli, Nina’s research station in the mountains.  For five days they revelled in new and ancient beaver habitat, common cranes just arriving to breed and nesting sea eagles and at night they cruised for moose and enjoyed some splendid beaver watching.  With 23 hours of daylight the Songli beavers were easy to see.  The expedition was a huge success; we all returned home with a much better understanding of the European beaver and its remarkable ways.

Left: Sir John Lister Kaye at a small beaver damn.

Right: Ieuan & Glen at a fine beaver lodge.

Mean while, back in Scotland...........

Wednesday 17th May

I arrived at the hide at 8:30pm. It was raining fairly heavily. A grey heron was feeding just in front of a patch of bog myrtle and a female mallard was also there with 10 ducklings. At 9:05pm a beaver was spotted swimming from the direction of the new lodge but turned back and lay still like a log beside the boardwalk. At 9:15pm it swam across the loch towards the old lodge and disappeared. Five minutes later it reappeared from around the corner with a branch in its mouth. First of all went to the feeding station opposite the hide and then swam very fast into the new lodge. At 9:45pm beaver with no branch (presumably it deposited in the lodge) came back across to the hide again. It dived under and was not seen again. I left the hide at 10pm because I’m ever so slightly scared of the dark! Jenny Grant

Sunday 21st May

I arrived at 9:15pm and it was raining again. Swallows were darting about on top of the lilies. A beaver appeared from the direction of their lodge at 9:20pm. It turned around and was looking at the Still where there were some children staying! It remained in its log-like state for 10 minutes, turned around and dived. At 9:40pm, a beaver brought a branch to the lodge. Later, at 10:10pm, one of the pair was right beside the old lodge, lying log-like again. The other beaver joined it there at 10:20pm. I really wanted to see the large birch they had been working at fall. Alas, the wet weather meant it got too dark and I left at 10:30pm.

Monday 22nd May

The large birch was felled over night. It lies in the same direction as the first (i.e. across the entrance to the old lodge). It had taken them almost 2 weeks to fell the tree which is about 12” in diameter.

 Before and After >>

Thursday 25th May

MLK, MC, RE, JLK and IE arrived at the hide at 8:30pm. The first beaver spotted at 9:15pm. It swam to the loch side, hauled itself out and sat nibbling some willow sticks. At 9:30pm the other beaver joined it. The later arriving beaver went back into the water to mine some lily rhizomes. It then returned to the bank to eat the shoots. The group found it comical to watch the lily leaves trail behind it as it swam back to the bank. Great light for viewing.

Saturday 27th May

Warwick Lister-Kaye watched both beavers on the bank near the dipping platform as they stripped willow branches like corn on the cob! He also watched them grooming themselves and each other. Female looks pregnant!

Sunday 28th May

Melanie and Sorrel saw one beaver feeding from 9:30pm until 10:10pm on the bank opposite the hide. The other beaver was in the water dragging lilies but disappeared.

Monday 29th May

I arrived at the hide at 8:30pm closely followed by the very large-looking female beaver. She sat on the bank opposite the hide. Initially she groomed, then she headed to the willow behind her where she reached up and gnawed off a branch. Presumably for her security she took the branch to the water edge to strip the bark. Morag arrived at 9pm. She looked fat and hungry and sat eating continuously for one hour (not Morag, the beaver)! She moved onto lily rhizomes after her willow bark. The male beaver joined her at 9:25pm and started on the rhizomes. He left a trail of bubbles and disappearing lilies as he went through the water.

 The female did some more grooming at 9:45pm then ate MORE willow! Male came out of water further right than the female and also ate some bark. He then got back into the water and swam to the female. They touched noses on meeting each other awww! Really good views of both together and the female is obviously bigger. It appears that they are using the lodge that Aigas built them as a store (see picture) as there are lots of birch branches in there. They have felled two trees next to this lodge now and it may be that they are protecting the entrance. A third birch tree near the lodge is in the process of being felled (see other picture).

Thursday 1st June

JLK, David Dixon, nine members from the Cheshire Mammal Group and myself.
Earlier that evening we had gone round the loch looking at beaver activity/feeding evidence and it was great to see the animals themselves when we got to the hide at 10pm. We got a good 45 minutes of light for viewing which was enough to see both beavers feeding away (both lilies and willow).

Saturday 3rd June

The Smith family, 6 guests and Catherine arrived at the hide at 9:30pm. A beaver was already feeding on water lilies on the main feeding station. Sporadically, it returned to the water to get new lilies. The second beaver didn’t appear until 10:15pm and joined the first. They did mutual grooming followed by individual grooming. The second beaver then moved off into the willow to the left of the feeding station. 10:35pm – The first Midge attack reported!! Oh dear! They didn’t bother the beavers though who were still feeding at the time.

The Story So Far (end of May 2006)

The beavers and I arrived at Aigas at about the same time in mid April. It appears all three of us have settled in quite well and developed some kind of a routine. The beaver’s routine involves grooming, feeding (willow bark and lily rhizomes) and tree felling. Part of my routine on the other hand is watching them do these things!

Emergence from their lodge seems to be pretty regular (8:30pm-9:30pm) and they have distinct areas for feeding and logging. The female looks to be growing by the day and her mammary glands are quite obvious. She spends a lot of time eating when she first emerge. We are keeping our ears open for the sound of kits in the lodge!

The last week has provided some really good viewing opportunities with dry and very light nights. My science training has told me to stop anthropomorphising but I cant help it…..embracing beavers are so sweet to see. They touch noses and it looks so sweet. 

It appears that the lodge that Aigas built is being used as a store (see picture) as there are many birch branches in there. They have felled a fourth tree near this lodge. All have been felled in the same direction and cover the entrance to the lodge. I wait with my camera to film the felling of a tree…watch this space.

Our ecological engineers are certainly starting to make their mark at Aigas. Hopefully their lily rhizome eating will thin the lilies out. As beautiful as they are, they do clog the loch up a bit!

 Any beaver questions or please email me, Jenny Grant, at Jenny@aigas.co.uk. I’ve been calling them Mr and Mrs Beaver in my head but I’m sure we can come up with better names – email any suggestions!

 Beaver Summary, June 2006

First of all I’d like to appologise for the lack of beaver updates. It’s been really busy here the last couple of weeks …excuses, excuses. Anyway, it was worth the wait because there has been a lot of beaver watching going on and I am very excited to tell you we have a BABY BEAVER!! The signs were there two or three weeks ago when the adults' routine seemed to alter. Instead of taking their food out to their favourite feeding station, they started taking lilies into the lodge.

“Before they can move outside the lodge, the young are dependent on the male, female and older siblings to carry food into the lodge for them” (“Beavers”, Andrew Kitchener).

So, the signs were there but it wasn’t until last week that we could confirm that the Aigas Beavers had a kit. I shall let you read the diary to see how the story unfolded………..

Sunday 4th June

I arrived at the hide at 8:45pm and there were no beavers out at this time. The loch was stunning, like glass. At 9:00pm one beaver came out of the lodge and lay like a crocodile among the lilies for 5-10 minutes. Perhaps it was feeling vulnerable because it was such a clam and bright evening. After a wee while this beaver dragged some lilies into the lodge. It passed the other beaver on the way, which also went into the lilies. It had very slow and gentle movements. At 9:30pm one of the beavers was lying in front of the old lodge. It disappeared soon after. At 10pm some guests from our Wild Animal programme and David Dixon joined me in the hide. They came quite close to the hide again and did their crocodile impression to give the guests a good close-up view. There seemed to be quite a change in behaviour on this night. They didn’t use their normal feeding stations at all and taking their lily rhizomes back to the lodge is something I hadn’t seen before.

Wednesday 7th June

Another beautiful evening up at the hide. The insects were still buzzing around in great numbers when I arrived at 9pm. One beaver, the male I think, was in the process of taking a willow branch off a willow tree. He sat and stripped its bark before dragging it across, in the water, to their favourite feeding station. He then started nibbling at the actual branch. His feeding was interrupted at one point for a good old scratch. He used his hind leg to scratch the tip of his nose! It must have been pretty itchy given the length of time he spent scratching it. Maybe it was a midge bite. Anyway, meanwhile, the other beaver was dragging lilies back to the lodge. I’m interested to see what this change in behaviour is about. Maybe it’s the calm conditions or perhaps there’s another reason. Keep an eye on the beaver page to see. I was expecting the third birch to have been felled near the old lodge since Sunday but there are now four felled there!

Thursday 8th June

 
Kathleen and two wild animal guests arrived at the hide at 10:10pm. Both beavers were out on their favourite feeding station. After ten minutes, they shot into the water. Two red deer had run down the hill towards the loch, frightening them. They didn’t seem too phased by it as they were out feeding again at 10:30pm. One of the beavers disappeared into the bushes, returning with a willow branch, which they both then stripped. They left the hide at 10:45pm and the beavers were still feeding.

Friday 9th June

Warwick Lister-Kaye spent the night in the illicit still which is situated pretty close to the beavers lodge. The beavers were swimming back and forth from the lodge to the far bank. They were apparently undisturbed by his presence and chatting.

Saturday 10th June

JLK and Summer Birds group. A rare blank night. Possibly the group arrived too late (10pm) and the beavers were beavering away in the bushes already.

Sunday 11th June

JLK, MLK, David Hetherington, A. Mackintosh and son and 9 guests from the Summer Birds programme arrived at 9:30pm. The two beavers were out at the back of the loch but well hidden by vegetation. The group watched waving sedge and willow branches for an hour! 

Monday 12th June

A very interesting observation by Emma from the summer birds group. She saw a beaver taking lilies into the lodge at 7:00am!
I went up that evening at 8:45pm and stayed until 10:15pm. Unfortunately I didn’t see any beavers.

Tuesday 13th June

I arrived at the hide at 9:00pm and a beaver was sitting feeding at the main feeding station at 9:10pm. It was stripping the bark of a very large willow branch. I was joined in the hide at 9:30pm by Kathleen and 4 of the Summer Birds group. No sign of the other beaver.

Thursday 15th June

I arrived at the hide at 9:45pm and didn’t see a beaver until 10:15pm. It was swimming back and forth in front of the lily patch and at 10:20pm it sat happily nibbling away at lily rhizomes on the main feeding station. I was joined by Emma from Summer Birds and Morag at 10:30pm. I left them to it. The other beaver emerged shortly after I left.

Tuesday 20th June

I’d been to Skye with a group and was hoping by now there might be some sight or sound of kits. All I saw, however, between 9:30pm and 10:30pm was an adult taking lilies into the lodge.

Friday 23rd June
POSSIBLE BABY BEAVER!

JLK was at the hide from 9:00pm and joined by Roy Dennis, Moira, Emma and Kenny at 9:30pm. JLK had been watching an adult beaver at the far side when the others arrived. The second adult arrived and both beavers moved into the thicker vegetation making viewing a little more difficult. Periodically, a beaver was seen at the waters edge and the group enjoyed seeing one drag a large willow branch along the edge for several yards.

At about 10:00pm, Emma saw a disturbance in the water immediately outside the lodge. At this stage they were 90% sure that the adult beavers were still feeding in the thick vegetation. Roy got the scope on to the disturbance and said “otter”, but quickly changed his mind to baby beaver! The animal was only on the surface and then dived - presumably back into the lodge. No one could be absolutely sure.  Had it been an otter, JLK thinks they would have seen it again and ditto a mink. His best guess was that it had been a beaver kit, which emerged, perhaps for the first time, panicked and went back in again.

Sunday 25th June

Excited after hearing about the events on Friday night, I was at the hide at 8:30pm. A roe deer doe was feeding at the beaver’s feeding station. I saw one of the adult beavers take a HUGE branch into the lodge (not quite sure how it dragged it under!). That was all they were going to show me on this night. I reluctantly left at 10:30pm.

Monday 26th June
VERY LIKELY BABY BEAVER

Back I went the following night in the hopes for some beaver kit sightings. I saw an adult quite early on (9:00pm) swimming through the lilies to the far side. It then disappeared into the vegetation behind the main feeding station. The first thing that was different about this night was a strange puppy-like yelping from the far side of the loch. It was replied by a gruffer version of this from the hide side of the loch. “that’s strange” I thought, "I’ve never heard a bird like that" "Do roe deer make that noise? " Gerhard Schwab  (the beaver expert) had said that we would hear the kits. I had to be sure though...no jumping to conclusions.
The yelping was heard sporadically and I tried to search for this “thing” that was making the noise.

Eventually, at about 10:30pm I saw a little, beaver –shaped animal “playing” in the long grass to the right of the dipping platform. It was going in and out of the water, wobbling nervously at the edge before going in. On land it seemed to be pouncing like a kitten, as if catching something on the ground. This, I thought, was not beaver behaviour. It was definitely too small for an adult otter. Hmmm the light was fading and I couldn’t be sure but I was almost certain it was a beaver kit! The next day I reported my viewings to JLK and sure enough beaver kits pounce around.....

Tuesday 26th June

JLK went up to the hide at 9:00pm to try and confirm beaver kits. He only saw one animal, an adult, in the deep vegetation at the far end of the loch. He stalked it to within twenty yards on the boardwalk and it didn’t appear to see him. It eventually hauled out on to the bank but no sign of any other beavers. He left at 10:45pm

Friday 31st June
DEFINATE BABY BEAVER

I wasn’t in the mood for sitting down in a hide so decided to go for a walk around the loch on this gorgeous evening. When I got to the loch at 9:00pm, there was an osprey there. It didn’t hang around too long but it was nice to see.

I continued around the loch looking for beavers all the time. No sign. I stopped at the dipping platform and before walking out on to it I heard some splashes and vegetation rustle. Naturally, I was very curious and crept on to the dipping platform.

There, on the left-hand side about one metre from where I was standing was a BEAVER KIT.

I can say absolutely, positively, undoubtedly, that we have a baby beaver!!!!

 It was just a miniature version of the adults. Bigger than I thought it was going to be (60-70cm long, including tail) but unmistakably a young beaver. It was more buoyant than an adult. I just stood looking at it for a good five minutes. It seemed to be gently nibbling at a lily leaf on the surface. I didn’t want to disturb it for too much longer so snuck back. It then swam underneath the dipping platform. How exciting! Where was my camera?! Next time! 
 

………..Summary Continued

...So you see, we can confirm the presence of a baby beaver (sorry kit). I’m going to venture out on the dipping platform again to capture it on camera for you.

Apart from the presence of the kit, the felling of trees around the loch seems to have slowed down and I haven’t seen them come over to the old lodge in a long time. Maybe now that the kit is a bit older it will start feeding itself and the adults will have some free time to eco-engineer!
Jenny Grant

July

Saturday 1st July

JLK, MLK, HLK were up at the hide at 8:45pm to view the beaver kit. They saw it at 9:10pm just outside the lodge. There was then a long wait before it emerged and swam fast on the surface to the willows on the right of the dipping platform. Unmistakable-small-pointed face-fast moving-mostly at the surface. 

Sunday 2nd July

Myself and Kathleen went up to the loch at 10pm. We stayed in the hide until 11:20pm and saw nothing!

Monday 3rd July

JLK, LLK at the hide from 9pm and there were no beavers to see again.

Tuesday 4th July (am)

JLK and myself went to explore the loch to see what these beavers were up to. I did say in the June summary that the felling of trees had slowed down...the beavers have proved me wrong again! They have several patches of willow that they have been heavily lopping and felling on the far side of the loch, opposite the hide. There are also a couple of rowan trees that have been taken down recently. These are on the hide side of the loch. Lots of branches can be seen at various points around the loch edge. Lots of energy has been expended doing this for some reason. The furthest away felled branch was 45 metres from the loch. This seems odd behaviour when there is so much vegetation closer to the water.

The adult  beavers are there, they haven't disappeared! They have been disappearing into the thicker vegetation and around the corner from the hide. I.E. the sneaky things have been beavering out of sight! First of all they leave the ever so beautiful aigas-made lodge, then they feed in areas where we can't see them -how rude!

Tuesday 4th July

 
JLK, MLK, IE and others. The group started with an interpretive walk at 6pm to see how the beavers were modifying the habitat. Later, at about 8:30pm, they went to the hide. There was no beaver activity until 9:15pm when a beaver, probably the kit, emerged from the lodge and swam along the edge of the lilies. It dived and the group didn't see any more activity until 10:00pm when Ieuan saw a beaver on the sedge strip to the right of the dipping platform. From then on the group had good views of all three beavers coming and going, feeding and grooming. The evening ended with a lovely sighting of an adult streaming lilies back to the lodge. They left at 10:45pm.

Thursday 6th July

JLK and the Sexton Family. David Sexton was once a ranger and field officer at Aigas. He is now a RSPB officer on Mull and very involved in the sea eagle reintroductions. It was a beautiful, calm and warm evening and the group arrived at 9:00pm to see the beavers out on their principal feeding station. The male and the kit were very visible while feeding on willow. The female emerged out of the water, to the left of the other two, at about 9:30pm. She performed the grooming "boob trick" in full view.This was the best view of all three together we've had. The kit is about 1/2 to 2/3rds full size and much darker. The female is by far the biggest and looks fat. Her mammary glands are still very prominent suggesting that the kit is still suckling some of the time. The group left at 10:15pm after a wonderful evening of all sorts of beaver behaviour. 

Laterfrom the still,   at about 11:00pm , David Sexton watched one of the adults swim across the loch to the hide and old lodge area where it moved around in the water (possibly looking for food). It then went back to the far end of the loch where it had been originally. While all of this was happening a tawny owl was calling, a woodcock roding and a roe deer barking!

Friday 7th July

Ieuan and the Sexton family arrived at the hide at 8:45pm and the first beaver, the female, was spotted at the far back bank at 9:10pm. After swimming through the water lilies, she emerged onto the bank to scratch and preen. She had a water lily neatly placed on top of her head! She looked really comical sitting on her bottom, rubbing her stomach and wearing a lily "hat"! After a good old scratch and groom, she disappeared into the willow, felled a large branch and dragged it back to the waters edge to nibble on it. The group noticed some movement to the right of the dipping platform where the male and kit were feeding on willow.Good views of all three swimming and feeding. The kit was moving willow branches around when they left at 10:30pm.

NAMES

The only suggestions I've had for the adults are Jane and David (thanks Ian this is good). I'm sure some serous scientists don't agree with naming them but its only a bit of fun. Come on...suggestions please! What about the kit? It has to have a name.

You can send them to me on a postcard if you dont want me to know who named them Borris, Beartrice and Bob! I await emails and postcards.....Jenny@aigas.co.uk

Thursday 13th July

Catherine, two Kathleens and I went beaver watching on this night. It was a special night because Kathleen and Catherine, our two French-Canadian helpers, were leaving the next day. They hadn't seen the beavers yet so this was a really important beaver watch- we had to see them.

Our watch started at 10:30pm. The light was dwindling so instead of going to the hide we started a walk around the loch. There were very loud crashing noises coming from just beyond the dipping platform. We tried stalking the noise but all fell silent. Back tracking a little, we crept on to the dipping platform. There we saw Willow(?) the kit feeding on lilies. We stood quietly watching for about 40 minutes as it nibbled away on rhizomes. Pipestrelle bats were having a feeding frenzy around the water, chittering away. A little later the kit was joined by its mother (Lily?). We stayed until 11:45pm when the light just made them look like black blobs.

Names Update (Boris, Lily and Willow)

I have had three excellent suggestions from Bethan and Olivia Sexton. For the male they suggested Boris (good Russian/European macho beavery sort of name), Lily (after she emerged with a lily on her head the other night) and Willow for the kit. I really like these.

The only reservation I have is that decribing activity might get a wee bit complicated. For example, "Boris began by feeding on lily then moved on to willow" or "Willow was eating lily from 9:30pm until 10:00pm ". We may get accused of having cannabilistic beavers! I do think we could get round it though. Good names! 

 Saturday 15th July

JLK and Ingred from the BBC beaver watch on a reconnaisance for filming later in the week. Arrived 9:00pm. Male beaver was sitting at main feeding station - good views through the telescope. Later he dived and reappeared on the outer edge of the lilies with a rhizome in his teeth. He then tried to swim through the weed to the bank and became entangled. At one stage he was porpoising up out of the water in powerful stages. Then he gave up and and dived to try and disentangle the long tail of lily stems and leaves. It took him many minutes and a great deal of effort to get back to the feeding station. You have to ask why when there are rhizomes so close to the bank?

We also had an osprey visit. It perched and dived from a birch immediately  above the beaver, snatching a small brown trout from among the lilies.

Sunday 16th July (am)

JLk and Ingred from the BBC go habitat monitoring and film research.

Monday 17th July

GC led the watch tonight and was joined by Shiela and her family, Kay and JLK. At 9:15pm JLK spotted the kit near the lodge. It quickly disappeared. From then on until 10:20pm there were regular sightings of Lily and Willow in the water and on the bank. There was a brief sighting of the male who disappeared into the willow on the far side., right of the dipping platfrom. While Lily was feeding, Willow came and joined her. They mutually groomed each other which was really interesting.

Tuesday 18th July

JLK arrived at the hide at 8:30pm and was joined by Kathleen and 6 guests a little later. One beaver emerged at  8:40pm and went straight into cover. Occassionally a beaver came out and swam a short distance before disappearing into the vegetation again to feed. 

Thursday 20th July

JLK, Glen and myself do a recce for the BBC. We arrived nice and early at 8:00pm. We suspect the beavers were already out at this time as we saw none emerge. At about 8:45pm JLK saw the black baby beaver (Willow) in the clearing we made to the right of the dipping platform. Glen and myself had baited several sites with apples and carrots. Willow  was eating a carrot at the entrance.

Later, an adult, possibly the male (Boris) appeared out in the lilies but was very elusive. He did eventually move into the willow clearing on the left and ate carrots and apples. Glen stalked him round to the dipping platform and was able to watch undetected for 25 minutes - an excellent filming position. We were able to watch Boris on and off until the light faded at about 10:15pm. NO sign of the third beaver at all.

BBC FILMING OF THE BEAVERS, SIR JOHN AND KATE HUMBLE!!!!

Friday 21st July

It was so exciting! After growing up with BBC documentaries this was an incredible chance to be involved with making one. The film crew were so nice and Kate Humble herself very down to earth and interesting.

The day began by filming the beaver habitat in daylight. Kate and Sir John were the stars of the show at this point. John described the beaver story and some ecology to Kate on a journey around the loch. Stripped willow sticks, pulled up lilies, the "B1" (a main beaver track) and felled trees were among the features filmed. Of course the real reason for the visit came at night. Glen and I had placed pieces of apple in appropriate places. Did the beavers behave themselves??? They have had this habit recently of disappearing into thick vegetation.

At eight o'clock, the crew were positioned on the dipping platform and Glen and I were keeping watch from the hide.  Both a honey buzzard and an osprey put in an appearance for the cameras but the lead role in this performance was Willow the beaver kit!

 It was about 9pm when Kate and John saw it right beside the dipping platform i.e. right beside the camera!! He (I think its a male) was in one of our apple baited stations (the same place I first "met" him) but was actually nibbling lily rhizomes. This was perfect. He then went into the water and did a loop around the loch anti-clockwise. He came right into the site of the old lodge and extremely close to the hide where Glen and I were. So there was brilliant viewing for all!

The camera man (Ian) also managed to get a little of an adult towing lilies but they were a bit camera shy. What a fantastic evening though. Perfect light, not too many midges and wonderful footage of wee Willow!

Saturday 22nd July

BBC finish off some filming. It was amusing to see Kate row Sir John around the loch. She was very good at it! The film crew were in another boat filming them and the beaver lodge.

Look out for the programme which comes out around September the 4th on BBC 1. Also look out for my photos of the filming coming here very shortly!

 Monday 24th July

MLK, Natures Child (Alice) and the BBC arrived at the hide at 8:45pm. They had a brief glimpse of a beaver at about 9:45pm on the right hand side of the dipping platform. After that it was too dark to make out much but a beaver was seen again.

Tuesday 25th July

Ieuan and Laurie Campbell (famous wildlife photographer). Ieuan arrived at 8:25pm. It was a beautiful, hot evening. The loch as like glass with golden-ringed and hawker dragonflies zooming about above the water-perfet beaver watching weather! Laurie Campell was there too- hidden amongst the undergrowth . Ieuan spotted Willow the beaver kit on the far side at 8:55pm but it soon disappeared. At 9:05pm he spotted an adult beaver on the far bank to the left of the dipping platform. It dived under and reappeared nibbling willow in a corridor cut through the willow for the BBC.

Ieuan got fabulous views of one of the adults then diving and swimming along the loch with a huge raft of water lilies trailing behind him/her- he seemed to be really struggling to pull it all through the thick vegetation. He also got nice views of the kit again on the far bank before the male emerged swimming across the front of the dipping platform where Laurie Campell was now positioned.

Ieuan lept around the side of the hide and waved his arms desperately trying to alert Laurie to the passing beaver. He was soon on to it himself and started snapping away.

The male with lilies in tow went towards the lodge and dived. The kit reappeared on the bank near the dipping platform.

Wednesday 26th July

JLK, Laurie Campbell, 3 guests and myself. Our Natures Child guests and myself arrived at the hide at about 8:45pm to find JLK already positioned there with a walkie-talkie. Laurie was on the dipping platform again. He had better views than those of us in the hide. We sporadically saw an adult and the kit swimming in and out of the lilies. Laurie was photographing the kit but he also got some shots of dragonflies. He and JLk left at about 9:45pm when light began to dull. Alice, her mum and dad and I, however, went on a wee adventure around the loch to see if we could get a better view of the beaver family.

 We quietly walked around the loch, stopping every so often to see if we could get a glimpse of one of our rodent friends. The roe deer were barking really loudly. I'm glad I wasn't on my own! Continuing on, we got to the dipping platform where we stopped and had a good look for the beavers. No joy. They were hiding in the thick vegetation. We did see masses of adult frogs and toads. I wonder if this will bring back the otters like it did in April?

Thursday 27th July

Melanie, Ieuan and Morag. Morag spotted a beaver at 8:00pm. She just saw the lily leaves heading towards the lodge and then disappear. The Female was out at 9:10pm on the far bank chewing willow. It was in and our of the water sporadically. A second beaver was out at 9:15pm swimming towards the first. It then disappeared at 9:20pm and was nowhere to be seen until it was spotted again in the undergrowth at 9:30pm.

Friday 28th July

Alice, Lyn and Colin (Natures Child guests) stayed overnight in the Still and had great views of the beavers.

Summary - July 2006

Here we are at the beginning of August -can you believe it?? In the last month the Aigas beavers have been at their usual work aswell as becoming film stars. Having the BBC and Laurie Campell here to record the beavers has been fascinating and I can't wait to see them on TV.

The thickness of lilies and vegetation around the loch has made them appear quite elusive but evidence of their activity is all to obvious on a walk around the loch. There is still no evidence of any dam being built. What they're doing with all these trees they are felling, I don't know.

The first beaver to be born in the Highlands for 450 years, Willow, has been such a nice addition to the loch and seems to be the most regularly seen of all three beavers. He has grown a bit but is still markedly smaller than the two adults and more bouyant. He is also rather inquisitive and seems to explore the loch like his parents did on their arrival.  Often there is one of the adults near Willow but it's  quite rare to see all three together.

Jenny Grant, Education Ranger.

Tuesday 1st August

Rangers were staying in the still on this night. We had great views of the kit and one of the adults (Boris the male I think) feeding at their favourite station from about 9:00pm. Two roe deer startled them at one point and they quickly slipped in to the water. The deer didn't put them off for long at all and they were soon back munching theirlily rhizomes. They stayed there, occassionally going into the water for more supplies, until it got dark. They didn't seem to be put off at all by all the music and chatting in the Illicit Still.

Wednesday 2nd of August

We had had a couple of rainy nights and days which was a bit of a shock to the system after weeks of gorgeous weather but tonight it was beautiful again. The midges thought it was good too but lets ignore them. Anyway, Kathleen and I decided to go out on one of the rowing boats. So, at about 8:30pm, after spending a wee while bailing all the water out of the boat, we rowed across the loch into favourite beaver territory.

It wasn't long at all before we saw wee Willow in the channel next to the dipping platform. It was definately aware of our presence (we were about 10 ft away). He slipped into the water after about 5 minutes and was quickly replaced on the bank by an adult (very large so I think it was Lily). She then made an absolute racket munching on something -what a noisy eater! She also went into the water and headed left away from the dipping platform and closer to the main feeding station. We could see the lilies move and the bubbles rise, as she moved underwater.

Kathleen and I followed her in the boat. Lily and Willow both emerged on the bank to the right of the fungus tree. I think I tried to get a bit too close and they quickly went back into the water. The adult lay in the croc-like pose, close to the boat for a few minutes before diving with a splash! Was this a tail slap?

Willow was very inquisitive indeed and swam around the boat for ages. It was absolutely fantastic to see them so close. Willow looks a bit of a rebel with spikey hair! I remembered my camera this time so hopefully pictures coming soon! We left at about 9:45pm to avoid disturbing them and also to avoid the midges. 

Sunday 6th August

Melanie, Lindsey and I went on another boat adventure on the loch. Great close up views of Willow again until he was scared by a mallard duck! We were pretty close to a very large birch which they've taken a massive chunk out of so far....wont be long before its down!

Monday 7th August

Catherine and the Broom family arrived at the loch at about 9:10pm. First excitment for the group was a trio of mallards floating around in the lilies. At about 9:25pm, Catherine spotted a dark shape in the grass at the water's edge. She thought it was a beaver but in fact it was an OTTER!!! Great excitment all round. It stayed around for about 5 minutes eating something, before slipping into the water and disappearing.

Shortly after this wonderful sighting the group spotted something else swimming among the lilies. It was one of the adult beavers which went to the main feeding station by the fungus tree. It was later joined by Willow the kit. They stayed until about 10:05pm, feeding and grooming before slipping into the water.

Tuesday 8th August

Exciting AM viewings by Anne & Chris Willoughby. At 5:30am a beaver was seen towing a long piece of silver birch away from the dam (aigas' own) towards the head of the loch.

And that night....

Lindsey and two guests arrived at the hide at 8:55pm. There was a slight breeze and overcast sky. An adult beaver was spotted to the right hand side of the fungus tree at about 9:15pm. The large birch tree they had been working on near there had fallen. An adult emerged from the loch and sat munching on the fallen tree. Willow the kit then joined in and later the second adult! The first time all three had been seen for a while. All three were clearly visible in the scope for around 15 minutes. One adult then entered the water and swam to the left, feeding occassionally. The group left the hide just after 10:00pm.

Wednesday 10th August

Catherine and Lousie and Melissa Flemming. They arrived at the hide at about 9pm. It was quite windy with showers and an overcast sky. First wildlife they saw was a roe deer buck in the scrub to the left of the dipping platform. Very handsome fellow with a chestnut coat. Later, at about 9:40pm there was some movement near the recently felled birch. One of the adults were eating bark from the small branches. It stopped to groom occasionally before going back to eating. The light was fasding at about 10pm and so the group departed.

Thursday 11th August

Melanie and Ieuan go filming. Inspired by the recent BBC filming expedition to see our beavers, Melanie and Ieuan decided to go on one of their own. 
They arrived at 8:15pm and loaded their filming equipment on to one of the boats “We rowed across the loch and found a kit lying in the water feeding on the felled birch” said one of the film crew. They approached cautiously and he/she moved towards them. The wind caused the boat to drift and the kit dived with a slap of its tail. He didn’t stay away long. Obviously very curious, it came very close to them, appearing to sniff them. Melanie and Ieuan got fantastic footage of the kit within just a few feet of them. At nine thirty they escaped the midges! “Fantastic viewing”.

Wednesday 16th August

I was staying in The Illicit Still. Only saw one of the adults from here munching on the recently felled birch.

Thursday 17th August

I and two guests, Stuart and Martin, took a beaver watching boat trip out on to the loch. The water was completely flat with mist hugging the edges and the trees. Tawny owls were calling and bats flying around us. It was quite spooky actually- good inspiration for a murder mystery novel!
We rowed out at 9:00pm and there was no sign of our beaver friends until 9:15pm when Martin spotted an adult lying in its crocodile pose in front of the boat. I think it was the female, she lay there for 5-10 minutes and then dived. I rowed around a little then we stopped to listen for the noisy eaters. I heard vegetation being munched from the large birch felled beside the feeding station. We headed over there. There she was-big Lily, the female beaver. She was eating the birch. We watched her for a while then she slipped into the water never to be seen again. The light was getting bad, as were the midges so we headed back through the mist.

Thursday 24th August

Kathleen and Trees for Life watched from the hide from 7:30pm after a brief walk. They first spotted a  beaver at 8:30pm. It was an adult swimming left from near their lodge. It then dived and disappeared for around 20 minutes. It later reappeared, just before 9:00pm and got out onto its usual feeding bank. It stayed there for the duration of their watch, grooming.
At about 10:10pm they spotted the baby beaver and an adult swimming near the first one. It too got out of the loch but by this time the light was fading and it was too difficult to see them.
An osprey also appeared during the watch, perching on one of the trees opposite the hide for about 15 minutes.

Saturday 26th August. AM WATCH!

Between 5:30am  and  7:30am Kevin O’Hara (NWT), watched the beavers. At 6:00am he saw Willow the kit in the centre of the lilies opposite the dipping platform. At 6:15am he saw 2 otters feeding at the loch side and at 7:00am a juvenile osprey appeared over the loch before heading towards the river.

That night…..

Ieuan, Kevin O’Hara, The Frasers and The Cooks watched from the hide. The first adult beaver appeared briefly at 8:30pm, on the right side of the loch. The kit was seen intermittently on the far side but they didn’t show themselves well.

Sunday 27th August

Summary August 06

It has been a difficult month for watching. This was partly because of the vegetation growth and partly because it’s getting dark at about 9:30-10:00pm now. The beavers haven’t altered their behaviour with the longer nights and still appear at around 8:30pm. This only gives us an hour of beaver watching.

It’s great to get some information about their behaviour in the morning (thanks Kevin). As the nights get longer, I think morning watches will become more and more important. I will try but 5:30am- Eeeek! It seems to have great benefits for the viewer to get up at that time–otters, deer and osprey too.

We have had a recent phase on taking the rowing boats out on the loch. It’s a bit of an adventure. You feel like you’re rowing in a swamp looking for crocodiles. Of course, rowing through the Aigas loch looking for the first Highland beaver for 450 years is equally exciting…it just doesn’t sound as dangerous! Its really exciting getting that close to the beavers, especially Willow who seems to be very obliging. 

So, the close up views have been fantastic and a number of us have been able to get some good photos of the beaver family from the boat. Willow, the kit, is actually growing quite slowly which is nice. It seems to be becoming more and more independent from its parents and has its own favourite feeding places. However, it’s still often seen feeding at the main station with one of the adults.

Watches from the hide are still really important. Midges on the loch make watch times in the boat shorter and its also difficult to see the direction they have come from and if there is more than one beaver out. A mixture of in-water and in-hide watches will give us a good picture of their behaviour.

One more thing, did you see Willow on TV? The BBC showed us on their One Life show on the 17th of August. They had amazing footage of the first beaver born in the Highlands for 450 years and Sir John! It was really good. Quite short too - Its amazing how much time was spent filming and how much was actually shown.  We’ve also been in a couple of papers. Wiloow the kit is becoming quite famous! 

Ok, that’s it for now. Sorry if you have been waiting for an update for a while. I’ve been a busy beaver! Any questions, information, photographs please email me - jenny@aigas.co.uk.

Jenny Grant, Education Ranger.

Friday September 1st

JL-K, LL-K and HL-K were at the beaver hide at 8:00pm. There was good light but it was fallig quite quickly. The loch was still, unruffled with regular and frequent fish rises (new stock went in two days ago).

At 8:15pm Willow appeared on the far bank near the recently felled birch tree. He appeared to be on his own and was in and out of the water variously grooming and appearing to bark ad leaf feed sporadically.

Visibility was good. There were excellent views of Willow through the scopes although the light was poor by 8:30pm. This demonstrates the need for a forward hide.

I joined the Lister-Kayes in the hide at 8:30pm, staying briefly and had good views of Willow. I then headed off around the loch to see if I could get closer to the kit. I went on to the dipping platform but the light was too poor to pick out any beavers. I walked back at about 9:00pm.

Monday 4th September

Morag took two guests up to the hide at 8:20pm. They had no sightings of the beavers and left at 9:20pm by which time it was dark.

Saturday 9th September

What have the beavers been doing?

Loch Survey by Jenny and Catherine

Well, it appears, surprise surprise, that the beavers have been doing quite a lot.....

Starting at the hide, working clockwise around the loch, there is no visible destruction until just before the bog area. Here there are 4, recently felled, birch trees along with a pile of small, bark-stripped birch twigs. Continuing around the loch, across the bog we get to where the beavers are building their town!

This is where we see them feeding most often. There are piles of mud dug up and channels being opened up from the loch towards the birch woodland. They seem to be widening the feeder burns for some reason. There are also a lot of regularly used beaver pathways or B-roads as JLK calls them. B1 is still the main road but there is now B2, B3, B4 and B5! There has also been a substantial amount of tree felling around this area. The majority of the lopped branches are willow but many birch have been felled as well. Interestingly, they have been trimming the bog mrytle too. Maybe the midges are getting to them?!

It looks as though one of the B-roads is congested with willow branches that have been dragged there. They seem to take away the willow but leave the birch where felled.

As we continue round the loch, we get to the dipping platform and just next to it is Willow's hole. The kit has spent a lot of time in there and it seems to have widened and become more water logged.

There was no sign of any other beaver activity further around the loch on the lodge side. They really are concentrating their efforts at that main feeding station. I wonder what they're planning there? Time will tell.....It will be interesting to see what they do once the lilies have completely died back.

Sunday 1st of October

So its proving quite difficult to document a nocturnal animals activities. Gone are the days of rowing out in the boat to view our resident rodents. It is already dark by the time our beaver family emerges. Our only indication of their behaviour is the tree debry and mud digging around the loch.

The other day Sir John took a walk around the loch with a group of guests and Robin Noble. "This is the first time I have been round the loch for about 3 weeks. There is much activity to report. Serious felling of birches and willow around the feeding stations at the back of the loch and quite a bit of bark nibbling in other places as well.

Most noticible was some willow regeneration sprouting from willow twigs dropped at the waters edge and even a few feet out into the loch.

The lilies have just about gone and I was able to see what Jenny and Catherine saw 3 weeks ago – the feeder burns, now running quite fast after the rain, have been widened and deepened. Watch this space as we move into winter feeding!" JLK

So its still exciting. They’ve become mysterious night time engineers. One morning we’ll wake up and see a whole empire around the loch…well maybe not an empire but a dam is perfectly possible! I think it is IMPERITIVE that we aquire some night vision goggles/binoculars to watch Lily, Boris and Willow. Our wee youngster is probably huge by now!

Have a look at the pictures to see what they've been up to.

Pictures:

Top Left - stripped branches. Top right -mud digging. Bottom Left -Three in a row!. Bottom right- Catherine admires the beaver's work.

October 12th

Well, once again not an awful lot to report. The beavers are keeping us very much in the dark (ha ha)  but just look at these fantastic pictures taken by Kevin O'Hara (he who got up early to see them!). These were taken back in late August.

This is Willow doing his/her usual showing off to the camera!

They have started munching on an absolutely MASSIVE birch tree. Photographs tomorrow (PROMISE!). Only 2 weeks left of the season....where are those night vision goggles???

So it's Friday the 13th and there have been some strange goings on at Aigas. See how close I got to this beaver at the loch side...........

 Sad I know...

Saturday 14th October

 Sir John, Ieuan and I go on another loch exploration.....

So, since the last loch examination there has been an incredible increase in activity. The beavers are obviously building up their winter store of logs. Where this winter store is, we don't know. We walked around the whole of the perimeter of the loch aswell as rowing around the edge but no sign. The log store is often very obvious but the beavers at Aigas like to be unconventional! They must have one somewhere though. Maybe Hugh pinched them for his log pile...Hugh? 

The B1 has gone from single track to motorway and they're using it very often. Some of the other tracks are littered with abanoned branches and logs. Together with the an abundance of willow lopping, there has also been more canalisation around the main feeding site and further bog myrtle sampling.

 The lodge itself has had some modifications. Mud has been plastered on it for the first time and it has extended further away from the loch.

We also did a recce on possible sites for a new hide. We think we have found an ideal location which will give us fantastic views of the beavers at their main feeding station.

Have a look at this bracket fungus. Do beavers eat fungi? We're not sure but the teeth marks on this one makes us suspicious.

Saturday 28th October

It's the last day of the season. The rangers are packing up and saying their goodbyes and the last of our guests left today. I couldn't leave though without a final beaver diary update.

The beavers must have loved the last week. The rain has been incredible and the loch was full to the brim. There has been lots more tree felling and the possibility of a dam starting to be built at the main feeder burn. We measured the girth of the largest felled birch tree and it was a massive 91cm!

So bye bye for now. It'll be exciting to see what they've been up to during the winter when I return to Aigas in the spring....watch this space in February/March! Jenny Grant

Want to know more about beavers? Have a look at the links below.

If you want to  Learn about beavers...... click here. 
Interested in learning about the reintroduction of beavers to Scotland?  Have a look at the Scottish Beaver Network's website by clicking here. 

Read about BBC1's The One Show feature on the Aigas Beavers here.