Three Kits, Part 2

Here is the beaver hut. Scroll down for a photo of a beaver kit, taken last night around 7:15.

Three Kits and a Cannonball

Holy cow. Steve and I hit the beaver pond last night around 6:30 and hung out for a little over an hour. Steve got a couple of shots of the Canada geese pair we saw last weekend, but two of the goslings are missing (there were eight last week; now there are six). We walked over to the second pond, hoping the adult beavers would appear. I was standing near the edge, just above the entrance to a culvert, and happened to glance down. There, looking up at me, was a baby beaver -- a kit in wildlife parlance -- and despite my frantic gestures to Steve (I was trying to get his attention so he could scurry over and snap a pic), the little guy never moved. He just lay on his belly, watching.

To our delight, two more kits appeared. The second one approached through a path in the tules, pausing when he saw me. He didn't seem perturbed, and so I stood, heart pounding, while Steve's camera clicked off a dozen shots. That second little guy apparently needed a snack, because he began nibbling a reed.

All of a sudden there was a ka-boom in the middle of the pond, followed by a significant splash. My immediate thought was that someone had tossed in a ten-pound rock, and then it happened again. Steve hollered, "It's the adult -- she's slapping her tail on the water to warm them!" It was a sign the kits had come too close and were in danger. She wanted them out of there.

Just like that, they were gone. In the end, we decided there were three kits and one adult. We guessed the second adult was in the hut, or possibly foraging for food. But Steve got two great shots, which I wanted to share. This one is of the kit eating a cattail; the second (part 2, above) is of the hut.

Two Baby Hummingbirds Sittin' In A Tree

Yesterday evening, Steve and I rode our bikes to the pond behind one of our local business parks to check out the beaver hut. We saw the two adults we knew were there -- one schlepping a willow branch back to the den -- the other skimming the edges of the pond, generally checking things out. No kits, though, which was a little disappointing. There was a pair of Canada geese, however, with eight goslings (or geeslings, as Oprah calls them), as well as a Mallard pair with two fuzzy ducklings.

Just as we were preparing to leave, the Canada geese swam over to the beaver hut and climbed atop it, the youngsters trailing behind. Steve said he thought they'd roost there, and seeing them settle in was a perfect cap to the evening. I wish we'd brought the camera.

Meanwhile, my neighbor, Laura VanCouvering, took this photo of a hummingbird nest, two tubby babies tucked inside. The nest is in a camillia in the yard of a friend in El Dorado Hills, and was taken in late March. Babies here are a little over two weeks old.