IT WAS VERY WINDY TODAY. And my least favourite type of weather is wind!
First stop, the woodland to receive a stone delivery. On my way down I spotted plenty of birds sheltering and foraging on the verges of long meadow; Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Robin, Dunnock, Jay, Wren and Chaffinch.
Walking back towards Durlston Castle, my curiosity got the better of me as I turned over a couple of the limestone blocks on the coast path. My curiosity was rewarded by a Common Toad, being all fat and toady, tucked into a crevice underneath one of the stones.
Caravan terrace was good for birds this morning, perhaps because it was one of the few parts of Durlston sheltered from the wind! All of the previously mentioned birds were sighted, along with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Goldcrest and Firecrest.
When the winds are high, it can be a good time to spot travelling sea birds on the wing. Determined to see something new, I walked the clifftop route twice! Plenty of Gannets, Cormorants and Shags on the wing, but the Gannets were the most active. They were effortlessly gliding into the wind before raising themselves up 10m above the water’s surface before transforming into bullet and plunging into the water.
Eyes peeled, looking for any sort of movement, I also spotted Greater Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Guillemots and a Diver. Unfortunately, the Diver was so far out to sea that I couldn’t identify it down to species level with certainty. The most common Diver species that passes Durlston Head is the Red-throated Diver, so I’d put my money on it being one of those. A good sighting nonetheless!
Before heading back up the hill, both the male and female Peregrines passed over, landed on the cliff’s edge, and hunkered down away from the wind.