Confounded yet again by beavers plying the water of the Kismat tract. They actually hauled off the 2 x 4 lumber used to back up water in the “double flashboard risers” in what is called Water Control Structure K at the site. Moreover, they destroyed two more of the three-year old native trees planted on the adjacent Silva tract. I am getting another lesson in humility. I recall having chuckled at seeing a requirement in the Habitat Conservation Plan that the Conservancy control beaver populations on managed marsh complexes. At the time (six years ago), I had no idea the damage they could do. Now I understand.
A very good sign
The photo that is shown with this post is of a Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), photographed in the Conservancy’s Central Basin Reserve Area. It has become a “friend” of Conservancy field crews since it is so gregarious. Conservancy crews always recognize it because, as you can barely see in the …