Get back to nature

Soothe the soul with a kayak trip on Beaver Creek

By Michael Edwards
For the TODAY

One mile east of Ona Beach, hidden deep in the tules along the muddy north bank of Beaver Creek, a male marsh wren whistles and buzzes a two-minute-long, 1980s-like arcade tune without ever repeating a note. Not to be outdone, perched on a blade of grass on the south bank of the tea-colored creek, a rival male wren repeats the song, note for note. In order to maintain territorial integrity, the 13-centimeter, 12-gram marsh wren, selects from a playlist of 180 distinct songs powerful enough to be heard over the four jet engines of two F-15 fighter jets banking south just off the coast. The bellicose little birds defend their perimeter of 20 nests, 19 of them “dummies” and one of them cradling six chestnut brown, dime-sized eggs. Along with ospreys and Coho salmon, the marsh wrens of Beaver Creek share their home with a variety of raptors, songbirds, mammals, amphibians and at least one garter snake that scared this writer into dropping his iPhone into the water.    

Brian Booth State Park has been a work in progress since 1938 when the first private farm was purchased by the state. Frequent floods and the Great Depression combined to make farming a real slog so, for many farmers, selling their land to the state made business sense. Today, the park encompasses 886 acres of beach, marshlands, temperate rainforest and an impressive visitor center (currently closed due to COVID-19.) Five miles of hiking trails traverse the park but, due to the marshy terrain, paddling is a preferable, mud free way to explore the area’s hidden backwaters. This viscous realm was engineered by a 50-pound, semi-aquatic rodent despised by Ducks everywhere. 

In order to avoid confusion between the iconic beaver and the invasive nutria, here are some differences between these two resident marsh mammals. Nutria are smaller than beavers, have rat-like tails and live in burrows dug into the river banks. Beavers have wide, flat tails and reside in dens supported by branches and logs. Even if you fail to see either of these mammals, you will be enveloped by their handiwork.

Thick alder stumps scarred with teeth marks protrude from the muddy creek bank. Beavers fell trees with their continuously growing teeth. Their four front incisors are made of hard orange enamel in front and soft dentin in back. Because the back of the tooth wears faster than the front of the tooth, a beaver’s bite has the effect of a chisel. By the looks of the osprey nest perched atop a sagging power pole in the marsh, the park’s beavers manufacture a surplus of nest-grade timber for Oregon’s state raptor.

Warming temperatures coupled with the flooded environment created by the beavers bring mosquitoes airborne, providing food for several species of fork-tailed, iridescent little swallows, which acrobatically pluck the bugs from the humid air. Wobbling high above the ancient spruces, the slow glide of a turkey vulture belies the bird’s importance to the ecosystem. When a black tail deer dies in the marsh, the vulture’s olfactory bulbs detect it from more than a mile away and, regardless of how diseased the carcass is, the turkey vulture “cleaning crew” gets to work. To see and identify these birds and more, bring your binoculars and stop by Robert’s Bookshop to pick up a guidebook.   

Be mindful that kayaking on any waterway presents hazards, and Beaver Creek is no exception. On our return float, my wife and I paddled into a strong, wet headwind. Within a couple of minutes, what had been a calm and dry flat-water paddle turned choppy, wet and cold. We were quickly covered in water droplets and, due to the wind, our paddling met with resistance. As coastal residents know, even in June, the Pacific at 45 degrees north latitude seldom passes up an opportunity to exercise its “lungs.” Don't let this cautionary tale keep you off of the water, just be prepared.     

Kayaking is an environmentally and physically low impact way to explore the marsh. In my experience with paddling, animals behave less anxious around me when I’m in a kayak than they do when I am hiking. For example, a pair of cedar waxwings that I floated to within a few feet of appeared unaware of my presence. Their reaction might have had something to do with the twin-berries fermenting in their crops, but I like to think it was due to my stealth.

Before you go

For safety information, go Oregon.Gov’s Non-Motorized Boating and Paddling website. The site has a link that offers a free online safety course and videos. When the park fully opens, park rangers will lead summer kayak tours. All boating and safety equipment is provided. For prices, dates, and times visit store.oregonstateparks.org and click on the Tours/Events tab.