Birds and Beavers, One Happy Family??

Although it may seem like an unusual combination, recently, researchers found that beavers actually help create an important habitat for a plethora of migratory songbirds. This study, published in the journal Western North American Naturalist found that the diversity and number of local songbirds increased when a beaver dam was built.

In the Western American Regions, the number of Beaver populations has dramatically decreased because of the fur trade ever since the 1800’s. Hilary Cooke, the author of the study said, "this habitat is critical to birds in semi-arid regions yet has been severely degraded or lost through much of the West. Our results suggest that management of beavers may be an important tool for restoring habitat and reversing bird declines." Other than being hunted, Beavers are also considered pests because they are known to cut down trees. Also, they are known to flood property, which explains why they aren’t seen as the most peaceful of animals.

Steve Zack, a co-author of the Wildlife Conservation Society said, “Beavers help repair degraded stream habitats and their dams and associated ponds recharge local water tables and create wetlands. With our changing climate likely to mean increasing droughts in the West, managing ways to allow watersheds to act more like sponges will be a challenge. Beaver are a powerful tool to be considered for that, and the associated benefits to other wildlife add to their value." It truly is incredible that it is due to these collections of water created by Beavers that allow songbirds to become more abundant.

The full article can be found here

Ahmed Sandakli (5)

Update:

Thanks All for the insightful comments and questions. There were many important points brought up that I would like to look into. The abundant songbird diversity in beaver’s dams is due to the fact that in these ponds made through dam building; there are many kinds of vegetation that are able to grow.

One question was raised asking if the beavers supplied the birds with branches that they used to make their nests, and the answer to that question is no they don’t. Its simply because of the source of food present due to the environment created by the dams that the beavers build.

Another comment asked why beaver populations aren’t on the rise, since regulations and laws exist to protect animals. The reason for this is that to this day, beavers are considered a pest because they take down trees and flood properties of people.

Ahmed Sandakli