A fresh autumn morning, with a heavy dew making the hedgerows glisten gold in the low morning sun.
With just the gentlest of breezes, the air is filled with the sound of birdsong, and the scents of Bracken, wet grass and the musky smell of our herd of Herefords as they much their way through the ‘aftermaths’ of the meadows.
Overhead, Swallows and House Martins dash and swoop through a bright blue sky – in much smaller numbers today, as the next ‘wave’ begins to build in size. Also passing through, several Pied and Yellow Wagtails, with a Yellow Wagtail fluttering above the Wildlife Area pond.
Woodpigeons clattering through in good numbers as they begin to gather into larger winter flocks, with a surprising number of ‘delta-winged’ Starlings – not a particularly common sight at Durlston.
Tiny Goldcrests dart among the branches of a Black Pine in the Car Parks – their bright golden ‘mohicans’ looking superb in the bright sun, with lots of small ‘charms’ of colourful Goldfinches feeding on Teasels, Woolly Thistle and Old Man’s Beard.
Also seen among the hedgerows, Blackcaps, Long-tailed Tits, Chiffchaffs, Robins, Wrens and Blue and Great Tits.
The hedges are laden with colourful fruits and berries, including ropes of plump red Bryony berries, ‘dusty’ dark blue Sloes and Honeysuckle berries. Blackberries are starting to wither (my Gran used to say that the Devil pees on them on the 1st October!).
At the base of the hedges, the seedpods of Stinking Iris are starting to burst open to reveal their bright orange seeds.
Among the coarse grasses around the field edges, Yarrow, Bristly Ox-tongue, a few late Greater Knapweed flowers and even some Wild Carrot are still in bloom.
On the Drove, a patch of flowering Ivy is covered with a noisy swarm of Ivy Bees (Hedera helix).