Yesterday evening I saw a Fox Cross Lighthouse Road near the neighbouring houses. Arriving at the Centre my arrival sent a pair of Jays and a Green Woodpecker to flight as a pair of Magpies simply looked on. The wildlife pond was frozen over but a trio of Carrion Crows rested nearby. Frost was upon much of the ground and “iced” the top bar of a field gate. From Saxon a trio of Greenfinches were seen on its western boundary. Blackbirds were heard and seen in many places.
I was somewhat disorientated this morning what with the cold (hands especially) and misty spectacles & binoculars. So, I walked towards a rising sun for a change! I took care descending a frosty downland track towards Horseshoe Bridge where roosting Wood Pigeons dotted the gully scrub. Near the gully rock exposure sat a very still Rabbit. The wind rustled the frosted dry stems of the Tor Grass about Lighthouse Green. A Jackdaw duo landed upon the telephone wire. Descending to the gully mouth I noted upright stems of Woodsage, nearly as tall as my waist, where it grew beside a Holly. A pair of Goldfinches perched in a Hawthorn. Both a Herring Gull and the Condor ferry headed west, whilst a Rock Pipit explored the cliff edge.
A hardy Hamish reported Firecrest, seven Scoter and Siskin. Up to fifteen Guillemot were seen in two linear rafts upon the sea. One was nearly all white except about its head. Much chattering and some gargling was coming from their sea cave. Below them perched together a Greater Black Backed Gull, Herring Gulls, and a Shag. Thirty Jackdaws eventually flocked above the cliff top.
A male Stonechats was upon the wall in front of the Dolphin Watchers Hut. It was a Song Thrush that was to vanish behind the structure as did a Squirrel scrambling through Ivy. Towards Durlston Head a Peregrine Falcon perched facing west disinterested in the passage of angling boat Silver Spray II. Back near the centre I clocked a Bullfinch, seven Goldfinch, a pair of Greenfinches and a Chaffinch. Not bad for a cold morning!