The pools behind beaver dams are an ecological wonderland on par with coral reefs. The ponds provide still water that insects, amphibians and fish thrive in. Young salmon often fatten up in beaver pools, eating insects and hiding from their predators among the twigs of the dam.
Share your coloring creation!
Snap a picture and tag @OregonMetro on Instagram or Facebook.
Follow illustrator Zoe Keller on Instagram.
And there are a lot of predators to hide from! Herons in the shallows, kingfishers overhead, mink and otters in the water.
Baker Creek is far from most neighborhoods, but beaver dams show up along any creek in greater Portland, even in the middle of cities.
Print a copy at home!
Who’s at Baker Creek?
- Black cottonwood
- Western red cedar
- Black-tailed deer
- Kingfisher
- Cattails
- Beaver
- Great blue heron
- Dam
- Red-twig dogwood
- Muskrat
- Mink with egg
- Western spirea