Early spring in the Derwent Walk Country Park, Gateshead

 Some pictures from a walk last week in the Derwent Walk Country Park, Winlaton Mill, Gateshead.

Silver birches and willows, seen from the top of the Nine Arches railway viaduct over the river Derwent. The buds of the birches take on a purplish hue at this time of year, as they begin to swell, while the willows have an orange tint.

Carrion crow. Handsome birds, with a hint of blue iridescence in their plumage.

A fine display of colt'sfoot

Dutch rush Equisetum hyemale spore cones beginning to disperse spores. An uncommon plant, but there are some fine patches of it beside the footpath.

Golden saxifrage in full flower in a ditch beside the old railway line.

A heron with some fine chest plumes, feeding in the river Derwent.

Beard lichen Usnea sp. Remarkable that this pollution-sensitive species is now established here, when you consider that this was formerly a location for coal mines, an ironworks and the Derwenthaugh coking plant that only closed down in 1986.

A magpie in one of the meadows

Primroses in flower

A soaring red kite

Toads coming out of hibernation in the woodland, heading for Clockburn lake, on the site of the old coking plant

Wood anemones in flower in woodland beside the river Derwent

A slow start to spring

 It has been a hesitant spring here in County Durham, in the North Pennines, but a few wild flowers are beginning to bloom. Here are some from the first half of March.

Colt'sfoot, in Teesdale and beside the river Tyne in Hexham

Butterbur, beside the river Tyne in Hexham yesterday

Elm flowering on the edge of woodland near Wolsingham, Weardale

Yellow star of Bethlehem, locally rare, just coming into bloom during the first week of March, beside the river Wear near Wolsingham, Weardale. I've known this small population for over 40 years and it is increasing very slowly.

Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage, in Teesdale and at Hexham in Tynedale

Hairy bittercress, infesting my garden and already producing seed pods

Primroses in the snow in my garden

Wood anemones in woodland beside the river Tees at Egglestone

Barren strawberry growing in an old wall in Teesdale

Some early blackthorn blossom, from the beginning of the month

Cherry-plum at Willington in the Wear valley. The earliest blossom was damaged by freezing temperatures and snow

Male flowers of dog's mercury, in a woodland in Teesdale

Stinking hellebore flowering near Hawthorn Dene on the Durham coast, at the beginning of the month

Winter aconites flowered at the end of February and had run to seed by early March. These are in the churchyard at Wolsingham in Weardale.

Dog violets, flowering in my garden today

Woodland walk along the river Tees that J.M.W.Turner trod 200 years ago

This is the view of the river Tees from Abbey bridge near Egglestone, on a tranquil spring day. When the snow melts in Upper Teesdale this becomes a raging torrent, roaring through the rocky gorge. 

The woodland on the steep banks of the river here is exceptionally beautiful in spring, carpeted with wild flowers. Last week wood anemones were the star of the show; next week the bluebells will take over.

Fallen trees are left to gently decay and often develop their own 'garden' of flowers as they rot - like this one with a flora of wood anemone, ramsons and herb Robert.

Last week the bluebells had just begun to flower but it will be early May before the tree leave canopy begins to close over them. The fully-grown trees are mostly sycamore and oak.

The path winds through a dense carpet of wood anemones, high above the river.

Wood speedwell Veronica montana

When we arrived there was still a chill in the air and dew on the leaves, so the wood anemone flowers were all nodding downwards ...

..... but by mid-morning, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, they turned to face it.

This wood anemone had purple leaves.

Some early wild cherry blossom, hanging over the river.

Wood sorrel, nestling against a moss-covered tree base. The leaves fold down at night, like triangular tents.

Beyond the woodland the path passes through pastures, with ground ivy Glechoma hederacea flowering in the shelter of a dry stone wall.

Last week the first influx of warblers arrived, with this willow warbler and blackcaps singing

Last time we passed this way the elms were just coming into flower. Today their clusters of seeds were well-formed.

A bee-fly, a parasite of mining bees, sunbathing in a clearing.

Crane-flies mating.

A comma butterfly soaking up the spring sunshine after a long hibernation.

In 1816 J.M.W. Turner must have walked this footpath and perhaps sat somewhere near here to sketched this scene, at the confluence of the river Greta and the river Tees, which he painted in 1818. I like to think that perhaps he sat under this ancient oak, which would have been more youthful then, to view the scene, which you can see in his painting by clicking here.