A still, grey start to the day, with a few fragments of bright blue sky gleaming through a heavy blanket of high cloud.
Quite a few Swallows still passing through this morning (including some young birds, lacking the long tails of the adults) – quite late to be leaving (though we have seen Swallows here in December! From the opposite direction, a Redwing seen near the Large Copse – these pretty Thrushes, with a distinctive patch of rusty red, head south to the UK from Scandinavia to enjoy our balmy winter climate!
Our resident Jays are joined at this time of year by visitors from the continent – drawn by the plentiful supply of Holm Oak acorns, with no less than 6 foraging in the Large Copse. A really stunning bird, their electric blue wing feathers enliven even the greyest of mornings!
A few Linnets and Pied Wagtail also passing overhead, with lots of Goldfinches, filling the air with their ‘sleighbell’ calls.
In the woodland, Dunnocks scuffle noisily through the fallen leaves of Sycamore, Ash, Horse Chestnut and Elm, with a Treecreeper scuttling up the trunk of a Monterey Cypress.
Near the Castle, Goldcrests dart among the canopy, with Song Thrush, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tit and Blue and Great Tit also seen, along with a Blackcap.
Guillemots are once again crowded onto the ledges, with one ‘field of vision’ through my binoculars containing Guillemots, a Great Black-backed Gull and a Peregrine Falcon!
More Guillemots whir in and out to sea, with a single Gannet way out in the distance.
Out in the meadows, lots of Horse Mushrooms and slimy Field Blewitts are fruiting, some forming huge ‘fairy rings’.