beaver Archives - Keith Broomfield

Sometimes it is better to let the mind wander and imagine the creatures that might be around you rather than seeing them in the flesh – and that is exactly what I did from my vantage point overlooking the Insh Marshes near Kingussie on Strathspey.

It was dusk and the gloaming light was fading fast, yet the watery channels, pools and winter-withered rushes of the flood plain of the River Spey possessed an inner resonance that glowed and sparkled. Nothing moved on this RSPB reserve, no birds on the pools, nor roe deer skirting the marsh fringes. So, instead, my mind drifted in dreamy melancholy and conjured images of white-cloaked whooper swans feeding in the shallows and a hen harrier quartering the marshes in a slow and measured flight.

I let my mind wander some more and pictured a beaver plying one of the channels, leaving a shimmering V-wake in the water. I imagined cranes standing like proud sentinels on one of the many islands and little egrets wading by the water’s edge in their perennial search for fish.

The little egrets and cranes were fantasies of my mind as they are not currently present on the Insh Marshes, although there is every possibility they might occur in the future as both species increase their range.

As for beavers, well they do occur on the Insh Marshes with a family group introduced a couple of years ago as part of a planned programme of co-ordinated releases in the Cairngorms National Park to reestablish them in the area. Beavers belong here and are as much part of the environment as the waterfowl, salmon and trout, yet have been absent for over 400 years after being hunted to extinction. Now they are back and on the cusp of bringing new vitality to the environment.

Of course, beavers are controversial and some people are wary and belligerent about their return. I get that, and every opinion should be valued and considered rather than ignored, but I firmly believe that the overall impact of beavers on the River Spey floodplain will be hugely beneficial. I am not saying that as some starry-eyed environmentalist who does not give a whit about the views of others, but rather as someone with considerable experience of beavers on my own local river further south.

On my river, trees felled into the water by beavers provide shelter for fish to thrive much in the same way as an ocean reef, and the resultant bankside clearings create sun-dappled places for wildflowers to prosper. Most of the trees are coppiced rather than killed and quickly sprout new shoots of recovery. The channels and pools created by beavers abound with new life, including aquatic plants, invertebrates and amphibians. Recently, I filmed a snipe by the edge of a beaver channel. Beaver dams can store precious water for wildlife in times of drought and prevent downstream flooding after rainy deluges.

In short, beavers deliver enhanced biodiversity and make our environment more resilient, benefiting both nature and humanity. It is as simple as that.

An evening stroll along my local river – nightfall was approaching and I could sense a stirring in the air, as if the creatures of the gloaming were about to emerge.

I scanned the opposite bank in hope of spotting an otter or a kingfisher, but it was a dark, furry rotund form at the bottom of a steep section of bank that caught my eye – a beaver! It was grabbing overhanging leaves and other luxuriant vegetation with its front paws and munching with such enthusiasm that the chewing noise was clearing audible.

Then, another movement, this time in the water – a small brown head swimming with a V-shaped wake across the river towards the sandy shelf where the other, much larger, beaver was feeding. This was a beaver kit – young and full of the zest of life, and a standard bearer to the integral beauty of nature and the hope of a new beginning. The kit emerged onto the bankside to greet its mother, rising on its hind-legs as if in celebration of their reunion.

They both fed together for several minutes, before sliding back in the water, their long paddle tails slithering along the sand bank as they did so. Beavers are remarkable creatures – unusually for a rodent, the parents are faithful and pair for life, and the young are born fully-furred with open eyes, and can swim from the moment of birth.

Watching the mother and kit was an emotional experience, and it was like spiralling back into the depths of time when wolves and bears once roamed Scotland and it was a truly wild place. As such, the return of beavers to Scotland after centuries of extinction is something we should all celebrate, for they belong here and are as much part of our rivers as are trout and salmon.

Beavers do sometimes come into conflict with farming and other landowning interests – I fully understand that – but the environmental benefits they bring are immense and in the 21^st century it should not beyond the wit of humanity to live with nature, rather than continually seek to destroy it.

Research has consistently shown that where beavers are present, biodiversity is significantly enhanced by their activities, making them animals to cherish. In areas where beavers dam small burns, the large ponds created above abound with invertebrates, amphibians and water plants. Many trees felled are coppiced rather than killed and will spawn new green shoots of recovery. The clearings created enables sunshine to filter to the ground below, enabling, wildflowers and their pollinators to prosper. Tumbled trees slowly rot, providing refuge and places to reproduce for a host of other invertebrates and fungi. A tree felled into a river acts like an ocean reef, providing shelter for fish and many micro-creatures.

The activity of beavers has been engrained in the natural order since the dawn of time, ensuring a diverse environment that supports more life than would otherwise be possible, which in turn brings vitality to our environment that benefits us all.

A passion for nature

Tag: beaver

How beavers can boost biodiversity in Strathspey

An inspiring encounter with a beaver and her kit