{"id":7703,"date":"2013-04-20T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2013-04-20T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=7703"},"modified":"2013-04-20T08:07:05","modified_gmt":"2013-04-20T12:07:05","slug":"beaver-lodge-critter-cam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2013\/04\/20\/beaver-lodge-critter-cam\/","title":{"rendered":"Beaver lodge critter cam"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Box readers have already heard<\/a> about Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s\u00a0Great Blue Heron web camera<\/a>. That two-camera set-up offers wonderful views. As many have commented, the soothing natural sound alone is worth the visit. And, hey, if there was ever a week where a mental health break came in handy, this was it. (Life – precious life – goes on.)<\/p>\n

So, I had similar hopes for another natural oasis when I read about a beaver lodge camera.<\/p>\n

This “Beaver Whisperers<\/a>” project\u00a0is\u00a0jointly produced by CBC TV’s “The Nature of Things” and\u00a0Eco-Odyss\u00e9e<\/a>,\u00a0a privately-run Quebec nature destination some 30 minutes north of Ottawa. \u00a0(A feature video on the topic\u00a0of beavers<\/a> was presented on”The Nature of Things”.\u00a0Regrettably,\u00a0the full video is only available within Canada.)<\/p>\n

According to the Eco-Oydss\u00e9e\u00a0website, their\u00a0back story<\/a>\u00a0goes like this:<\/p>\n

What’s one to do with 500 acres of land that comprises a 70 acre marsh, agricultural fields and rolling mountains accentuated by a magnificent mixed forest. This was the question that Michel Leclair asked himself upon acquiring this vast property located just outside of the charming town of Wakefield.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyway, proprietor Michel Leclair\u00a0has been observing a female beaver he named Pollux for 8 years. Contacted about a beaver cam, Leclair thought that site and her family would suit.\u00a0<\/span>Clan members<\/a>\u00a0now include Castor, Amik, Boulotte and Peluche. Leclair is tweeting<\/a> updates and tips about what the beavers are up to.<\/span><\/p>\n

And? Well, my initial reaction is renewed admiration for the rich simplicity of the Cornell project! (And its reliability.)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Not much happening inside the lodge. Screen shot from The The Beaver Whisperers<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I suppose it is to be expected, but visitors to this CBC site must endure TV-style ads to get to the featured material. Next, sometimes the video is down (unavailable). This CBC article<\/a> about the project includes reader comments, including a number of annoyed swipes at ads and uncertain video feeds at the site.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Next, when it’s working, beaver lodge camera 1<\/a>\u00a0(inside the lodge)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>disappoints<\/span>\u00a0somewhat for being in black and white, with a camera angle that doesn’t show much. There’s no sound either. (Though perhaps there wouldn’t be a lot to hear in there anyway?) A full morning of\u00a0<\/span>intermittent\u00a0viewing consisted of grey fur that sometimes moved.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To be fair, I haven’t been visiting very often and there may be better days than the one I saw. Shortcomings aside, without a camera like this, how often would one otherwise get to see the inner workings of daily life in a lodge? So it is worth something.<\/p>\n

Beavers are\u00a0fascinating<\/a>, important\u00a0creatures. Communicating that to a broader audience is worthwhile.<\/p>\n

The “Beaver Whisperer”\u00a0website<\/a> is a cheerful\u00a0smorgasbord\u00a0of diverse information and images, some of which are slow to load, but offer good views. Plus we get tidbits like this:<\/p>\n

If you see a couple of muskrats, don’t be surprised, they are guests! The two species often lodge together. Muskrats are the ultimate bad houseguests; they eat the food, hog the beds and never leave! The muskrats tend to be more active during the day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Good to know: don’t invite muskrats. I wonder why the beavers don’t seem to mind?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if you want an uplifting dose of nature with fewer hassels and a good chat side-bar, Cornell’s blue heron site is hard to beat!<\/p>\n

Three eggs (and counting?) as of Friday – and not a bomb or SWAT team in sight. Although nature is no picnic either. There can still be great horned owls that come a raiding at night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Box readers have already heard about Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s\u00a0Great Blue Heron web camera. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[11532,11526,880,5702,11533,11528,884,11529,5670],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7722,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7703\/revisions\/7722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}