Several years ago--to be exact, it was 9 March 2005--we were taking one of our usual evening strolls around Hilton Pond Center, surveying the trees for early spring migrant birds and noting what wildflowers were coming into bloom. We eventually got to a spot on the pond edge we whimsically call "Hilton Beach," an open, sandier area where we often swim in warm weather. We expected to observe whirligig beetles on the water surface but instead saw something that stopped us dead in our tracks: Two long, thin, pale-colored sticks forming a "T" in the shallows (above). Although we'd never seen this phenomenon on our property, we knew immediately from the exposed end of the closest stick what the "T" stood for; it was a symbol for "Trouble" at Hilton Pond--trouble that meant we were simultaneously "Thrilled" and "Terrified." What we were looking at was our first local encounter with an animal with ability to do some real damage to our little 11-acre nature sanctuary, an animal with incredibly sharp incisors and a penchant for using them, an animal that could gnaw down woody vegetation overnight and decimate trees around Hilton Pond. We speak here, of course, of a semi-aquatic mammal that has been making a comeback in surprising places--none other than nature's energetic engineer, Castor canadensis, the American Beaver.

To verify our initial analysis, we lifted the nearest stick out of the water, examined closely, and determined it came from a sapling Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua. Apparently the Beaver had gnawed it down near ground level with only a few bites of its sharp front teeth and then systematically stripped all the tender bark with additional passes of its incisors. Sweetgums are so-called for a reason. The sap of this tree is relatively high in sugar and must be pretty tasty to a hungry American Beaver; in addition, bark on young Sweetgum trees is fairly thin and soft, so a Sweetgum sapling is an energy-laden snack easy to gnaw. We didn't mind the loss of a few Sweetgum saplings around the pond, but we shuddered to think what might happen to our stately, up-and-coming Bald Cypresses and hardwoods such as Black Cherry and oak if a colony of beavers took up residence in our relatively tiny one-acre water impoundment.

For the next few days we kept close watch on Hilton Pond; eventually we saw something at dusk that supported our suspicions: A dark object moving low in the water and leaving a small wake (above left). We had our camera with telephoto lens handy and fired off a single exposure from long distance before the object disappeared beneath the surface. After downloading the image, we determined it was the head of either a Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus--which we've observed frequently on the pond through the years--or a Beaver. Based on shape, large size, and dark color, we concluded it must indeed be an American Beaver--the 27th mammalian species for Hilton Pond Center. A few days later we got verification from another tell-tale sign: The stump of another small Sweetgum (right), gnawed off to leave a pointy artifact--the trademark of an industrious Beaver.

Again, all this happened back in March 2005, after which we saw neither head nor flattened tail of beavers plying Hilton Pond's waters or defoliating its banks--at least not until last week when human company came to town. On 30 March, Jayne Pettus McClain--a member of the board of trustees of Hilton Pond Center--paid one of her periodic visits. We've known Jayne since 1971 when she was in the very first class we taught--eighth grade math at Fort Mill (S.C.) Jr. High School--and have remained friends through these many years. When Jayne arrives she always asks for a Guided Field Trip so we headed off down the trail to see what might have changed since her last visit. Because the old Sweetgum stump in the photo above was still visible, we pointed it out to Jayne and asked what might have caused it. Although she now teaches pre-nursing students at Greenville Technical College, Jayne remembers much about our field biology experiences from decades ago, and she correctly answered the stump was created by a beaver. When Jayne asked whether we had seen beavers lately, we responded we had not and that our trees had been spared any further nibbling and gnawing. Then we continued along the path.

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Despite such optimism, our pleasant field trip came to a sudden halt when right beside the trail we spotted something new and suspicious (above)--a Sweetgum stump four inches in diameter and 18 inches tall, complete with that pointy little hat that meant a beaver was again at work. The perpetrator had stripped the tree itself--now lying partly in the water--and even chewed off every shred of bark on the stump. Needless to say, we were taken aback by this unexpected sign a beaver had returned and had renewed its assault on woody flora along the banks of Hilton Pond.

As we walked a bit further the beaver evidence was even more alarming: Four larger Sweetgums had been partially debarked (above), and one especially big one about ten inches in diameter showed signs the beaver had every intention of toppling it into the water. At this rate, the banks of Hilton Pond could be devoid of Sweetgums--and perhaps other trees--in a very short time. (Incidentally, our main pond flows into another larger one partly on Hilton Pond Center property. Upon further investigation we can report there is even MORE beaver damage to the trees around what we call "Nothilton Pond.")

"This Week at Hilton Pond" is written & photographed
by Bill Hilton Jr., executive director of
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History.

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