River Camel floods 22nd December 2012

Polbrock meadows from the Camel Trail.

 
After weeks of heavy rain and 24 hours of virtually non stop downpour the River Camel decided to takeover the whole valley as a torrent ran off the already sodden land.

I walked from Treraven bridge at Wadebridge along the Camel trail as far as Polbrock where the river was right across the Camel trail and even with wellies I couldn't get through.

Here are a few record shots. 

Pendavey bridge on the upstream side.

The Camel trail about 200metres down from Polbrock bridge

The Camel trail at Polbrock bridge

The River Camel looking downstream from up on Polbrock bridge.

The River Camel looking upstream from up on Polbrock bridge.

The Camel trail impassable at Polbrock.

Ring necked Duck at Par Beach pool

Drake Ring necked Duck

This fine drake N.American Ring necked Duck was strutting his stuff on the Par beach pool this morning in the company of the very similar Tufted Ducks.

Drake Ring necked Duck

Waxwings on my home patch

Some shots of the 2 waxwings which were showing well on the berry bushes in a local garden this morning.
More images are available on my website by clicking here

Waxwing

Waxwings

Waxwings

Waxwing

Golden Eagle in Yellowstone Nat. Park.

Golden Eagle

As the weather here in Cornwall has been atrocious I thought I'd dig out a few more images from my trip to the States a few weeks ago.

We were in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone when we came across 2 Golden eagles feeding on something on the far edge of the river.

There were fishermen in the river but the birds seemed to be more concerned with fending off a couple of magpies which were giving them grief.

The river was quite wide and thus I was forced to use a 1.4 x converter on my 500 mm lens, so not the highest quality images I've taken. 

It was also 12:25 just after mid-day, so not light conducive to good photography but when a subject like this pops up in front, you have to take your chances!

Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

Bald Eagle - Grand Teton N.P. Wyoming.

Bald eagle

I've been wanting to upload these images since getting back from the USA but as I'd entered one of them in the Cornwall Wildlife Trust photo competition I thought I'd best leave it until they'd been judged.
I shouldn't have worried as it was passed over anyway!

I came across this young eagle perched in a tree in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
I reckon it's probably a third year bird.
It proceeded to catch a fish and fly to a sand bank.

By the time I'd moved my 25 foot motorhome off the road it had eaten the fish and was in the river drinking. I then managed to grab a few shots as it flew away downstream.

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

Fungi foray back home in Cornwall

Shaggy Pholiata?

 We had a fungi foray with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Photographic Group in a very wet Ladock Woods this morning.

There weren't many fungi around and we had to search to produce a few photos. Many of the fungi had either gone over or had been well chewed by the slugs.

Amethyst Deceiver

Common Earthball

Yellow Stagshorn Fungus?

Bramble colours

Wet feather

Another campground , another large mammal!

Bison at Madison campground

Bison at Madison campground

I've taken a lot of photographs of bison (or maybe it's buffalo?) during our trips to the Mid-West states but this big guy just stomped through the campground one morning at Madison in West Yellowstone.

It does make me glad I was sleeping in a motorhome rather than a small tent like the green one in the second photo.

But what a magnificent animal and again another treat to us Brits!

N. American Badger

Earth flying in all directions

Continuing with photos from our recent trip to Wyoming we were watching bison in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone when Linda asked what was going on a few metres away where we could see earth being showered into the air.

My immediate thought was ... badger!

Although we'd never seen an American badger I'd looked at lots of photos and knew what to hope for!

As I moved a bit closer I got glimpses of it's back and hind quarters until eventually he emerged from his burrow and just sat there looking at me.

In the last photo one could be forgiven for thinking that the image has been compressed vertically as we so often see in digital images but no, that's the actual shape of the face, very wide and  not very high!

Another treat and another species to add to my photo library.

American badger

American badger

N. American river otters

N. American river Otters

We were extremely fortunate to get great views of otters on 2 occasions. The first time Linda spotted a family of 7 on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and a few days later she spotted a family of 4 on the Yellowstone River near Madison in Yellowstone National Park, also in Wyoming.

The family of 7 consisted of 6 youngsters playing and fishing together whilst the adult female stayed 20-30 feet away but always keeping a watching brief over them.

The family of 4 all hunted together going upstream through some rapids into calmer water and heading for Madison Junction.

Always a privilege to see otters in the wild in any country!

N.American river Otter

N.American river Otters

N.American river Otters

N.American river Otters

N.American river Otters

N.American river Otters pulled out on the shore from quite a distance.

Bull Moose...a close encounter

Bull Moose a few feet from our camper van.

This Bull Moose was walking across the campground when we arrived back in the afternoon at about 4:30pm. I watched it go towards the river and followed with my cameras. He went to the waters edge and I followed but keeping a reasonable distance from him as he was a bit agitated and snorting loudly. I went into a side stream with my shoes & socks on so that I could get a clear shot but he then decided to come back on to the campsite.

I made a hasty retreat but he kept coming towards our campsite where Linda was watching from the camp chair. I got back before him and by then Linda was in the doorway of the camper ready to close it for protection.

Unbelievably the Moose just kept coming until he was standing between our chairs and the camper van. I was also cowering in the doorway but still taking photos with a wide-angle lens!
I was getting nervous as he peered at his reflection in the side of the van that he would stick his antlers through the side... I thought "there goes $1000 deposit!".

Fortunately he saw some other people around and decided to wander off towards the woods. Part of me was relieved but the other part wanted more photos!

Bull Moose

Bull Moose a few feet from our camper van.

Bull Moose a few feet from our camper van.

Bull Moose heading back to the woods

Moose and the Gros Ventre River

Bull Moose crossing the Gros Ventre River in Wyoming.

 

 

This is the first time in 2 weeks that I've had access to the internet as I've been in Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks for that time and have been gratefully incommunicado!

We initially stayed at the Gros Ventre campground in Grand Teton just north of Jackson Hole in Wyoming and as we'd stayed here before we knew it to be a promising place to get some good views and photos of Moose.

We were not disappointed and over 2 days I watched a bull, cow and calf along the banks of the Gros Ventre River at the back of the campsite.

I watched as the cow made her way across the river, followed by the bull, leaving the calf on the opposite shore and calling for it's mother. Eventually she looked through the willow scrub across the water and spotted Mum feeding and decided to risk the river crossing alone.

Here are just a few of the photos I took in fantastic early morning light and very close to the animals as they decided to cross very near to our vantage point.

It was a sight that will stay with me for a long time to come!

Female Moose pausing to drink as she crosses the Gros Ventre River in Wyoming.

Moose calf calling to mother on opposite shore of the Gros Ventre River in Wyoming.

Moose calf crossing the Gros Ventre River in Wyoming.