Beaver release at Wallington going 'swimmingly' as baby kit is born one year on

The National Trust has announced the birth of the first baby beaver (a kit) to be born on the Wallington Estate in Northumberland for over 400 years, following the release of a family of Eurasian beavers last year.

Estimated to have been born in late May, the kits arrival is less than twelve months after the conservation charity released four beavers into an enclosure on the 12 July 2023.

After spotting a heavily pregnant female back in May, the Wallington team have waited with anticipation for confirmation of a successful birth.

Recent footage captured on static camera’s placed within the 24 hectare enclosure clearly shows the kit heading back into the family lodge with its mother as well as taking a dip, moving off the embankment into the water.

Helen McDonald, the National Trust’s Lead Ranger at Wallington said: “We are thrilled that after an absence of around 400 years we now have beavers back and breeding at Wallington. They have put a lot of effort into building and maintaining their lodges and getting their family settled, showing great perseverance and resilience during their relocation and then during the floods we’ve had over the last year.”

“This spring we’ve had our eyes glued to trail camera footage, looking out for signs of breeding and to see whether the adult female beaver was lactating. It’s such a relief that they have bred successfully and to see a new fluffy kit swimming with the family, we know now they must feel at home here at Wallington.

“We’ll continue to monitor the family to check on their health and condition and follow the new kit’s progress.”

A team of over 25 National Trust volunteers help look after the Wallington beavers, so far dedicating 208 volunteer hours over the past 12 months. Working alongside the charities ranger team in preparing for the reintroduction and every week since, volunteers conduct twice-weekly fence inspections and carry out emergency repairs and support in monitoring the wellbeing of the animals.

Once an everyday sight on rivers around Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction during the sixteenth century. The family of beavers at Wallington is one of the few populations in Northern England and the location of the charities third release of the animals.

Since their reintroduction the team of ‘ecosystem engineers’ have had a busy 12 months creating dynamic systems of dams, canals and burrows. These are slowing the flow of water through the enclosure, allowing it to spill out creating ponds, deep pools and mudscapes, covering an area similar to half a football pitch. The resulting wetlands are already having a significant impact boosting biodiversity along the river corridor.

The changing water levels offer a more diverse habitat, producing a wetland ecosystem which is benefitting and attracting a range of wildlife species, with a noticeable increase in resident trout along with more frequent visits from kingfishers and grey herons feeding in the newly formed ponds.

Daubenton’s bats have also been spotted skimming across the pools, foraging off the increasing numbers of insects such as mayflies and caddisflies that benefit from the organic matter building up behind the dams.

Higher water levels have submerged tree roots, a habitat favoured by native, white-clawed crayfish. The population is being monitored by Newcastle University and the Environment Agency to study the positive impact the beavers have on the crustaceans which are in rapid decline in the UK.

In the future it is hoped that the growing wetlands will see even more diverse species recorded, for example the small pearl bordered fritillary which may now lay their eggs on marsh violets, which will flourish as the ground gets wetter.

Not only are the beavers helping to make wildlife-rich wetlands, they are also playing a vital role in building an environment more resilient to the effects of climate change, for example flooding events and drought.

Paul Hewitt Countryside Manager for the National Trust at Wallington adds: “Since welcoming the family of beavers to Wallington the resulting impact on the water environment has been nothing short of astonishing.

“As a keystone species we have watched with keen interest as beavers do what beavers do, expertly altering their river environment to the massive benefit of other species. With the development of dams, we are starting to see the benefits of beavers in slowing water flows and making the flood plain more resilient to future climate change.

“As a stark reminder of our changing climate, the release of the beavers here, coincided with the wettest 18-months ever recorded in England. Despite many winter storms with near record river levels recorded the beavers have continued to thrive. As their dam network continues to expand, we will see more evidence of slowing water flows and making more capacity for flood water. Now into the summer months the dammed wetlands are acting as “sponges” slowly releasing water at a steady rate.”

The release of beavers to Wallington in 2023 was made possible through a partnership between the National Trust and the Beaver Trust, who carried out the translocation under licence from Nature Scot and Natural England, and generous funding by the Reece Foundation.

Sandra King, Beaver Trust CEO shared her support for the reintroduction project: "It's been a wonderful year working with the National Trust team at Wallington, and another important one for the species' restoration. We have followed highs and lows with staff and volunteers, we've planted out willow whips, supported a unique PhD, as well as thoroughly enjoying monitoring the beavers' activities.

“It's been a real privilege to follow a year in the life of this Northumberland site, the change along river and floodplain, and we look forward very much to the next 12 months which include offering new CIEEM-accredited beaver training on site".

Wallington is three years into a major nature recovery project called Wilder Wallington, where species recovery forms a key part of the work underway across the 5,431-hectare (13,420 acre) estate – the largest intact estate cared for by the National Trust and covering 2% of its total land holding.

The size of the estate means that work undertaken here will contribute significantly to nature recovery and the climate resilience. Pine marten populations are being encouraged onto the estate and an ongoing red squirrel conservation programme is seeing recent success, with the first sightings of the endangered animals confirmed in home woods since Storm Arwen in 2021.