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!