GO WILD WITH ERIC PAYLOR
CLEVELAND is home to some weird and wonderful plants, as well as many birds and animals.
This strange looking plant on the right is round-leaved sundew, which is to be found occasionally on the shores of boggy pools and peaty moors.
It was spotted by David Pye while walking in the Eston Hills.
Round-leaved sundew is a tiny plant, but a deadly one because it is a carnivore.
The tendrils on its crimson leaves are tipped with glistening droplets, which are attractive to insects.
These droplets are very sticky and sugary. They trap unwary insects, which causes the tendrils to curl inwards and engulf them. Once the whole leaf is wrapped around the insects, it digests them.
I’ve researched the history of the round-leaved sundew and discovered that it once formed the basis of medieval anti-ageing potions because people believed it was a source of youth and virility.
The plant was also used as a love charm because of its power to lure and trap helpless prey.
In actual fact, if you touch a carnivorous plant too often you are medically at risk of experiencing irritation of the digestive tract.
Recently the round-leaved sundew was voted as the County Flower of Shropshire.
Clearly they don’t like flies in Salops.
Meanwhile Ray Dobson reports spotting a deer walking nonchalantly across the road in broad daylight in the early afternoon near RSPB Saltholme.
Ray said: “I was on my way to work and this deer just sauntered across the road around 100 yards ahead of me without any fear of the traffic.
“It made no attempt to run and eventually disappeared into some bushes on the other side.
“I’ve seen deer before in the early morning, but never in the afternoon. It was about one o’clock.”
This deer would be a roe deer, which typically feed in late evening and through the night until early morning, so the timing was certainly unusual.
On to birds, and Nav Patel reports seeing a “seabird with a yellow head” on the rocks at South Gare that did not fly away when approached by humans.
This was almost certainly an unfortunate gannet, suffering from the effects of the avian flu that has blighted the seabird population up and down the east coast.
Once infected, the seabirds began to feel unwell and usually die very quickly.
Do not touch any ill or dead birds you see.
If you have noted any interesting or unusual wildlife sightings in and around Teesside and Cleveland lately, contact Eric on eric.paylor@ gmail.com