Beaver Lodge On Anderson Mill Creek Swamp

We found the swamps on Enoch John Road in Wilkes County, Georgia, in 2011 and drive by them every time we’re in the county. On the day we took the most recent photos of the beaver lodge on the eastern swamp on Enoch John Road, we discovered another lodge on the western swamp on Anderson Mill Creek.

We always stop on the..

bridge over the creek – looking west to the bridge - and take photos looking to the…

south..

A closer view, and…

north…

A closer view.

We stopped on the eastern approach to the bridge to photograph a…

Clump of Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus) that had gone to seed.

We were wandering around and noticed something almost insignificant but not quite…

A mud dam stretching between two clumps of grass. This wasn’t there last time we drove along this road. The road grader had been through and opened up the vegetation along this stretch of road to allow water to drain from the upper swamp to the lower area.

This was a small dam. No doubt about it. The beaver in this area have built and extensive length of dam, more like a terrace, along the north side of the road to the west of the bridge. This small section was very similar.

So we started looking around and found, a little way to the north, another beaver lodge almost hidden. In this photo, it’s a gray mound just to the left of center behind the bushes. It’s there; you just have to know where to look.

There was no getting closer to it. Its in the swamp. The water is probably a couple of feet deep and the bottom mud is probably soft. We weren’t equipped and weren’t going to attempt to get closer. The only other option was to position the pickup in the best spot and climb up into the bed of the pickup and strain for a better view.

This was the best we could do but, clearly, it is a beaver lodge not more than approximately 30 feet north of the road.

Judging by how difficult it was to get a good view of the lodge now that the bushes have dropped their leaves, it would be impossible to see it in the Summer.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification Resources:

University of Georgia Museum of Natural History: American Beaver (Castor canadensis)

Southeastern Flora: Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus)

Related post:

- Beaver Lodge On Wilkes County Swamp