A wonderful beaver dam creating new wildlife habitat: Chris Townend
Tour Summary:
The focus of the evening will be to enjoy good views of a beaver or beavers! There will also be plenty of time to learn about beaver ecology, how they create wonderful new habitat for wildlife and also alleviate flood risks. Dependent on the site visited we will walk up to 3 miles (return trip) during the evening, though some of our time will involve sitting quietly and waiting patiently.
Dates: Mid April – Early September
Site: River Otter Catchment Area
Target Species:
Mammals: Beaver and an outside chance of Otter if we are very lucky!
Birds: Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and Dipper.
OUR SITES
We have a number of sites that we visit dependent on the time of year and the best activity.
Evening walks are generally within a 10 mile radius of Budleigh Salterton. These sites are in public access areas and therefore we are likely to be watching beavers with other people. However, we will always take you to quieter less known sites if possible.
We sometimes have access to exclusive site visits on private land.
These are more expensive and can only be booked directly by email.
These sites ensure a more intimate encounter with beavers and the locations are often in more diverse habitat with little, if any, disturbance from other people. Our exclusive sites vary from year to year, but can be up to a 70 minute drive from Budleigh Salterton.
BRIEF ITINERARY
Our walks generally start around 2 hours before sunset and last around 2 – 2.5hrs.
Our standard evening walks cover up to 3 miles (return trip) to look for Beavers. We are sure to see plenty of beaver signs with recent tree gnawing and associated beaver “wood chippings” as well as “beaver sticks” and “scent mounds.” Dependent on the site we visit, we may also see some impressive beaver dams.
Of course, seeing a beaver will be the priority and we have an excellent chance of seeing at least one animal. Dependent on the time of year, we may even see newly emerged Beaver kits from their lodge! Animals can appear at any time during the evening right up until dusk so we will be keeping our eyes peeled! If we are very fortunate, we may also see Otter but sightings vary from year to year.
Scroll down to see just some of our beaver and Otter encounters that we hope to share with you…..
A young beaver feeding on willow in the River Otter by Chris Townend
Two beaver kits bonding in the River Otter by David White
Female Eurasian beaver with kit in the River Otter by Chris Townend
Two young “sparring” beavers in the River Otter by Chris Townend
A young Eurasian beaver with an oak branch in the River Otter by Chris Townend
Perfect beaver habitat on the River Otter by Helen Booker
Three Otters on the River Otter by Chris Townend
Eurasian beaver ‘surfing” on the River Otter by Chris Townend
An adult female Eurasian beaver in mid grooming session by Chris Townend