A glorious, sunny morning, after a chilly night, with a dazzling sea strewn with shards of gold and hundreds of Woodpigeons clattering past through a cloudless blue sky.
As the sun warms the air, a few Ivy Bees are already swarming over a patch of Atlantic Ivy in a sheltered corner of the meadows, with a Red Admiral perched nearby, slowly flapping it’s wings as it ‘powers up’.
Along the Drove, the air is already thick with clouds of Winter Gnats.
Overhead, a snatch of the sweet, fluid notes of a passing Skylark, with Pied Wagtails and Linnets also passing through (no Bramblings seen this morning, although one was seen yesterday – a sure sign that winter is coming!).
Near Tilly Whim, Meadow Pipits skitter through the long grass, with a Stonechat keeping watch from the top of a bare-branched Elder.
Around the downs, the jangling calls of Goldfinches can be heard, as crimson and gold flocks feed on the dry heads of Teasel, Woolly Thistle and Wild Parsnip.
As I admired the new ‘London Bollards’ panel, kindly donated by two Friends of Durlston, near the front of the Castle, a Goldcrest darted among the branches of the overhanging trees, with a flash of it’s bright yellow crest.
A quiet morning along the cliffs, with a Shag flapping steadily past the Lighthouse, a gleaming white Gannet glittering way out to sea and a Peregrine Falcon surging out from the cliff-face at Tilly Whim.
In the woodland, not too much damage after the high winds the other night (gusting up to 80mph), though a large Lime at Sunnydale has dropped a limb. Horse Chestnut leaves have tuned to shades of brown, red and sulphur yellow.
Jays are very active at the moment, grabbing acorns from the Holm Oaks, or stashing them away below ground for later in the winter (most Oak trees in the UK are ‘planted’ by forgetful Jays!). Despite their harsh shriek, they really are quite beautiful – their iridescent blue wing feathers looking spectacular in the bright winter sunshine.