Summer guided walks begin!

We are pleased to announce that our evening guided summer walks to the Dubh Loch will begin on the 15th of May. Running every Tuesday evening until the last Tuesday in August. We will also run Sunday guided walks from the 17th of June until the 26th of August.

To book a place on one of our walks, call 01546 603346

The meeting place for the guided walks is the information centre at Barlusaguan car park at 6pm. Participants will walk from the car park at Barnluasgan to the dam at the Dubh Loch, the tour will last at least an hour. The tour will be an opportunity to hear a brief summary of the Scottish Beaver Trial and its progress so far, have a look at the beaver dam at the Dubh Loch and the habitat the beavers have created there, and an opportunity for a chat with the Trials staff.  Given the time of day and potential group size and noise levels the chances of getting to see the beavers is slim, but you may be lucky!!

It is recommended that you wear suitable footwear for rough and potentially muddy terrain, and weather dependent, waterproofs, and Midge repellent may be needed!

The guided walks cost £2 per adult, £1 per child (up to 16) and under 3s are free.  You will also have the opportunity to purchase some of our new Beaver merchandise at the end of the walk, the proceeds of which will be put back into the project.

Beaver Explorers over the Easter weekend

This year's programme of Beaver Explorer sessions kicked off on the Easter weekend. There was an afternoon session for younger ones, as well as an adventurous evening slot for the over 8's. Each session started out at the Barnluasgan Info centre and followed a colourful trail down to an interactive beaver feely table, where participants found out lots about beavers, as well as getting their hands on skulls and pelts of various animals. The Junior explorers tried their hands at making a dam, before visiting a real one, whilst the older ones set out on a beaver stakeout at dusk, followed by some bat detecting by moonlight! The next Beaver Explorer weekend will be on the 7th July 2012. 


The Junior Beaver Explorer event starts at 14:00 and last until 16:00 and is recommended for children 4 yrs+ and another event for children 8 yrs+ beginning at 18:30 and lasting until 20:30.


Entrance for children cost £1 (Under 5's and adults free)


As always, meet at the Barnluasgan Information centre - click here for the location

See you there!

 The Beaver Feely Table

 The participants feeling various animal pelts

Looking onto the Dubh Loch Dam

Update on missing male beaver from Loch Buic

Earlier this year we reported that the adult male beaver on Loch Buic, Eogohann was missing and the missing animal protocol was implemented for this individual. Along with searching a wide area both within and outside the trial, the field team increased observations on Loch Buic and the connecting lochs, this included both visual and camera trap observations. We were pleased that the female Trude remained at Loch Buic, but on camera trap she did appear less and was more nervous. All these observations only revealed one animal. We also monitored the nearest beaver pair on Lochan Beag, Elaine and Christian, as Eoghann and Christian had previously swapped locations and partners. Camera trap observations on Lochan Beag regularly revealed two animals.

Field sign surveys were also carried out in April, where all evidence of beaver habitat use on every beaver occupied lochs and connecting water ways within the trial are recorded. Activity on Lochan Beag was at a high level with two active lodges, a small dam and new feeding areas being opened up here. Loch Buic revealed few fresh signs and these were mainly concentrated at one feeding area, again indicating a single animal was present. A few feeding signs were found on the interconnecting waterways between Buic and Beag, unfortunately it was not possible to determine if these indicated Eogohann passing through or the outer feeding points of the resident animals.

On the 15^th of April we received an email from Jane Allen at Seafield Farm Cottages, Achnamara who had a report from two of her guest staying here that they had seen two animals on Loch Buic and had a photo to prove it! Mary and Angus Kennedy from Carryduff were watching for beavers on the side of Loch Buic and reported their findings to Jane who also confirmed two beavers the next morning. The field team have carried out observations at Loch Buic all week and are happy to confirm that two beavers are present here, seen returning to and using the lodge here. A repeated field sign search has also revealed very fresh lodge building activity, with fresh mud and reeds being added to the original lodge. Hopefully a positive indication that he will plans to stay! 

 Photo courtsey of AA Kenedy

We wanted to be confident that this animal was likely to be Eogohann and not one of the Lochan Beag animals, as no tags were visible on the Buic animals. Camera trap observations at Lochan Beag have again revealed two animals are present here so we are confident that the missing male has returned  but we will continue to monitor the situation.

Christian & Elaine on Lochan Beag 

This is not the first time Eogohann has left a loch for a period of time. Elaine and Eogohann were originally released as a pair on Creaghmhor Loch, but he left and started to use Lochan Beag next door and with Elaine following later. As both animals were observed here the missing animal protocol was not put into action. Both animals originally slept on the banks amongst thick vegetation, not digging burrows or attempting to build a lodge. And eventually both animals returned to Creaghmhor and built a lodge  However they then moved  onto Lochan Beag and have now built two lodges on this site. So our thanks to Mary and Angus Kennedy, and Jane Allen for all their help. This is a good example how the eyes and ears of local people and visitors can directly input into the monitoring of the Knapdale beavers. We will keep you informed on the situation.

New Education Officer

Oly Hemmings has been living in the area for the past ten years and is enthusiastic about the Argyll countryside.  She obtained a degree in Countryside Management, specialising in Environmental Interpretation in 2000 and has had several jobs working with children and the general public in Environmental Education.  As a wildlife enthusiast Oly enjoys spending time outdoors and is excited to get started in her new role as the Scottish Beaver Trial’s Education Officer “I love the outdoors and the countryside around Argyll is so special in its diverse range of habitats.  I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to be involved with the trial release of Beavers back into Scotland.  It’s a species that has such an influence over an entire eco-system and should help to increase the diversification of the areas flora and fauna.  I’m looking forward to seeing the progress of these animals being back in the land they were taken out of so many years ago, and being able to share what we learn from them with school children and the general public through guided walks and education sessions.” 

Look out for Oly on our upcomming guide walks from Barnluasgan.  Keep an eye on our website and Blog for details!

Beaver update and latest camera trap footage

All the beavers have become increasingly active and roaming further around their respective lochs as they increase their range over the spring and summer period.

Map of Trial area and beaver loch locations

The Dubh Loch family for example are once again using Loch Coillie Bharr more often, with Millie and Bjornar often captured on the camera traps feeding at the far end of this loch. Within the Dubh Loch new feeding stations and canals are visible, and if you're lucky the beavers can be seen venturing out before night fall and often still active after sun rise.

Millie and Bjornar at a feeding station on the Dubh Loch

The search effort for Eogohann, the missing male from Loch Buic, continues both within and outside of the trial area. We have also been carrying out extra observations on all the beaver lochs nearby to see if he turns up here. Please get in touch if you live locally and see any unexpected beaver field signs.

The Lochan Beag pair continue to be seen regularly and are also using Loch Creaghmhor for feeding. They appear to be using both of the lodges on Lochan Beag and maintaining a small dam on the outflow here.

Elaine and Christian on Lochan Beag

The Linne family have been very active, camera trap placement on a well used forage trial has shown us that all the animals are present and looking well. We were lucky to catch last year's kit with its older brother Barney at this feeding station last week.

 

Barney and last year's kit at feeding station 04/04/12

The adult pair are also seen here often, feeding and moving branches. The female Frid is often seen out feeding first and looking in good condition so fingers crossed she is pregnant this year again.

Frank and Frid on a Foraging Trail on Loch Linne

SBT Geocaches

Four geocache points have been set up within the trial area...for those of you not familiar with Geocaching check out this website for all the information you will need.

http://www.geocaching.com/guide/default.aspx

You will find the details for the three SBT run boxes at http://www.geocaching.com/my/owned.aspx there is a further fourth point around Loch Coillie Bharr, called Loch of the Beaver for you to find as well.

So using your GPS, following the clues and searching through the undergrowth find the SBT boxes and let us know about it!

This weekend we also released two travel bugs...Bruce and Bonnie. They have been set the mission to travel between geocache boxes across Europe to visit their beaver friends especially those in countries that have reintroduced beavers!

Follow their travels on http://www.geocaching.com/track/search.aspx?o=1&uid=0b8b0925-fb69-4f7e-a32e-3eba01452379