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