Camel Estuary - General Information
(A personal overview of information that may be of
interest to birders.)
The County Council regularly carry out
surveys on the Camel Trail to ascertain why people use the facility. One
remarkable fact is that 25% express the opinion that they come to enjoy the
wildlife of the river. That is 90,000 people a year, admittedly not all birders
like us, but that is an awful lot of visitors who like to look at birds, even
if all they see are only Herons, Swans and Egrets. This figure is backed up by
a survey carried out in Port Isaac by the tourist association who found that
27% came for the wildlife. We know Port Isaac is good, I am surprised so many
visitors do. Green tourism, as it is called is now a major resource and must be
catered for. I hope the following comments from a resident of Wadebridge are of
use to you.
The
estuary is considered tidal as far as Polbrock which is about 2 miles upriver
from Wadebridge, this was because barges used to navigate their way up the
river as far as Polbrock.
The
fundus of the river is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, but the Harbour
Commissioners have responsibility for all water activity and together with the
Environment Agency, all conservation issues affecting the estuary.
The
Harbour Master, or Port Administrator, is based at the Harbour Office, The
Quay, Padstow.
The
Duchy of Cornwall office is based at Station Rd. Liskeard.
The
Committee of Harbour Commissioners, to whom the Harbour Master is answerable,
are made up of representatives from Padstow, Rock and Wadebridge who meet every
two weeks at one of the three locations. Members of the public can attend the
meetings and are usually invited to speak at the start of the meeting. They may
stay on throughout the meeting unless the Commissioners decide to go 'into
committee', when you will be asked to leave.
The
estuary is sectioned off to accommodate all the various water sports interest
groups. The northern side of the estuary from Cant Hill to Wadebridge is
subject to a 8 m.p.h. speed limit, which as a rough guide, is when the bow of
the boat lifts out of the water. The reason for this speed limit is that the
main roost sites are on the northern shoreline and needs to be protected, they
can be viewed quite easily with a scope from the Camel Trail. Please report any
speeding craft to the harbour office, (01841 532239) who will issue the
appropriate warnings. The water ski school staff are very good and will usually
report any antisocial activity. (The school is run by one of the Commissioners,
Mike Hewitt.)
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Shooting on the estuary is under the control of CASC, Cornwall Association for Shooting and Conservation, and only tends to occur on the Amble Salt Marshes near Wadebridge. They do have the rights over the whole north shore, except for the oyster beds near Gentle Jane Cove. Shooting is only allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, September to around February. Only 10 guns are allowed at any one time and no shooting is allowed from on top of the dam that is across the river Amble. The members of CASC will readily show you their membership card as they wish to ensure that only their members shoot over the marshes. Understandable really when you consider the fees charged by the Duchy. Please report any incidents to the Secretary of CASC, The local birders have reasonably good relations with the wildfowlers these days although things haven't always been so. There is no shooting at all from the Camel Trail side except where there is private land adjacent to the river.
The Camel Trail is a "Multi-use path" for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Of the 380,000 people who visit the Camel Trail each year many of them cycle the stretch from Wadebridge to Padstow, mainly in July and August when it can only be described as extremely busy. The local people who walk the trail tend go in the late afternoon when it is safer. Saying that, pedestrians do have right of way but must act reasonably. Cyclists are banned from Time Trials, it is thoughtless, pointless, stupid and shows a total disregard for the safety of other users, PLEASE DON'T DO IT..
On the Camel Trail near Padstow, is an old railway bridge known as the Iron Bridge. This underwent a restoration at a cost of £700K and was completed in July 2001. |
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Throughout the year there are guided bird walks on Tuesday or
Wednesday from Wadebridge (or Pentire), lead by one of the local birders. During
the busy summer period the walks take place on Pentire to get away from the bikes
on the Trail. Francis M. Couch led the walks for many years, but he died
suddenly in Nov 2003, he was a popular guide being an ornithologist of many
years standing. The guided walks start at 10:00 am, at present on a
Wednesday. Sorry there is no contact information at the present. Also
don't be surprised what you see, some years ago one of the guides observed a
puma in an adjacent field and Anita Dunstan came face to face with one just
off the Trail. See NCDC Coast and Countryside service for details. I
understand that throughout the summer of 2006 the walks are being
concentrated around Pentire Head and are very successful with sightings of
Dolphins, Sun Fish, Basking Sharks, Puffins etc. Camel Trail bird walks will
commence again in October. Opposite Trelawney Garden Centre at Egloshayle, you will find Clapper Marshes. This is a series of pools created by the Environment Agency during the flood alleviation work. With the cooperation of the owners. this flood plain is certainly becoming an area to watch. Viewing is from the road, or by walking around the back of the rugby pitch, mind the dog mess. Please don’t be tempted to walk down to the ponds, the lanes are private property and the owners don’t allow access. Views from the road are more than adequate. This flood plane has always been an area watched by local birders, because the confluence with the main river held Green Sand, other waders and duck. Now, expansion of the ponds has led to an increase in the species and especially the numbers of Green Sandpiper. The wetland is extensive and takes in the area beyond the Camel Trail, behind the old Shooting Platform. The first bird to be noted when the work on creating the ponds was completed, was a Lesser Yellowlegs which stayed for a week of so.Across the other side of the river you will find Treraven meadow which can be easily viewed from the Camel Trail at the start of the Wadebridge to Bodmin section. It has only been holding water on the high tides since 2007 but it has already produced some excellent birding. The section of river from Wadebridge to Pooley's Bridge is used less then the Padstow section and can be very peaceful and full of surprises. The woodland scenery is picturesque and if you keep an eye on the river you may see an otter, especially if it is early morning. It was reported that, when otters were first discovered on the river, again in the mid 80's, an Otter Hunt came down shortly afterwards to hunt them. If that is true it's almost beyond belief. The Camel Valley is a SSSI and a Special Area for Conservation.
The Camel like many other estuaries around the UK had a problem with Spartina Cordgrass. In 1990 it was decided to survey the estuary to see if anything could be done about the spread of this grass as it threatened the mud flats near Tregunna which is the main feeding area. The problems areas were identified and the spread arrested by cutting, trampling and digging the pioneering patches. Any new growth found was removed and until eventually no more was produced. We still monitor the area each year but hopefully the problem has been solved. All the established Spartina grass has now started to die back providing some good feeding for the waders.
In Wadebridge from time to time someone revives the old idea for damming the river to provide a nice boating lake appearance. Mud is great for birds, lots of nutritious mud, but does not look pretty to some people. Wadebridge school did a study of the river Amble some years ago, which is a minor tributary of the Camel, and they found that under drought conditions this small river with a flow of 250,000 gallons a day, carried 1.8 metric tonnes of sediment per day. What the Camel must carry must be mega tonnes and that is why we have such a superb estuary for wildlife. If the scheme is ever implemented, the river in Wadebridge would undoubtedly suffer from silting and the estuarine environment would change significantly. I hope the information will be of use to you, if you are intending to visit the area it should give you an insight of what to expect. Tell me your experiences you will find my e-mail address somewhere among these pages. Mike Lawson my address is : Fieldfare, St.Giles
Drive, Gonvena, Wadebridge PL27 6DS. I'll be as helpful as I can and answer
any queries |
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