Rampant Rust

This is Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum flowering near Tynemouth castle at the mouth of the river Tyne, in May. At this time of year the flowers have yet to appear but there is a lot of lush growth in its glossy leaves. The plant is supposed to have been introduced as a pot herb by the Romans and it was widely grown as a spring vegetable for its edible stems and leaves for centuries, until it was replaced by celery . The feral populations that are frequently seen are usually the result of past cultivation.

One of the reasons why it may have fallen out of favour might be this rust fungus, Puccinia smyrnii. It distorts the leaves, causing them to swell, then erupts through the surface and releases spores before they wither. Many of the plants that we saw around Tynemouth castle today were heavily infected.

If I'd been a gardener, growing this plant in my kitchen garden, I'd be very disheartened.

More rust fungi here and here

Rock doves

It's doubtful whether there are any pure-bred rock doves Columba livia left, except perhaps on remote sea cliffs where there are none of their domesticated pigeon descendants to mate with. Nevertheless, these 'rock doves' on Tynemouth pier are very attractive birds and are a cut above street pigeons, especially when the light strikes those iridescent throat feathers at the right angle. Enough to turn the head of any passing racing pigeon......

Waiting for the tide to turn (2) .....

Rock pipits Anthus petrosus on the parapet of Tynemouth north pier, waiting for the tide to fall and uncover their normal feeding ground on the rocks below. They have a very distinctive white circle around their eye.

Alexanders

Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum is the first of the large umbellifers to bloom and drifts of this naturalised garden escape - a native of continental Europe - are  currently in bloom on the banks of the river Tyne at Tynemouth. 


There was a time when it was cultivated as a vegetable, for its young shoots, leaves and stems that were blanched like celery. I've never met anyone who has actually eaten it but the smell of its flowers - described politely by Michael Proctor and Peter Yeo in The Pollination of Flowers (Collins New Naturalist) as resembling 'stale human dung' may go some way towards explaining why it's more popular with flies than with people. As long ago as 1776 Thomas Withering, in his Botanical Arrangement, wrote that "It was formerly cultivated in our gardens, but its place is now better supplied by celery" so it clearly fell out of favour as a garden vegetable a long time ago.

Oh, I-do-like-to-be-beside-the-seaside....

Tynemouth this morning: blue sky, blue sea, a bracing breeze, salty air, ships on the horizon, lapping waves, raucous gulls, fish-and-chips for lunch at the Waterfront in North Shields ..... perfect Saturday morning at the seaside.

A Stroll to the End of the Pier

It was a perfect summer afternoon, so we decided to take a stroll to the end of Tynemouth pier and discovered that it was a favourite spot for common terns to take a break and indulge in a bit of preening....

... which is necessary if you spend most of your life diving head-first into the sea every few minutes.

Only a brief respite though, and now they were in tip-tip shape time it was time to get back to work....

.... feeding the juveniles that were parked at intervals all along the pier.

Demanding work...

.. so the parent birds' feet hardly touched the ground ...

... while their were feeding their offspring, which ....

...apart from occasionally staggering to their feet for a stretch, just sunbathed.

This herrring gull had the temerity to land near a chick and the parent bird carried out relentless attacks until the gull was driven off, which is maybe why ....

... this turnstone tip-toed past PDQ, fearful that it would be in for the same treatment.

A small flock of redshanks, driven off the Black Middens rocks at the mouth of the Tyne by the rising tide, landed in the pier briefly....

... but didn't settle for long before the terns drove them off too.

The terns even had a go at this guillemot, swimming innocently by, but it showed them a clean pair of heels.