What a glorious sunrise greeted me this morning. The sky a deep red just above the horizon, filtering out across the sea and the park. As I enjoyed the spectacle the colours changed through to pinks and oranges.
Swooping and the stopping to hang and hover in mid air was Kestrel, the south-easterly wind buffeting this bird a little, but still it was able to keep its position in mid-air – just amazing to watch.
A Peregrine Falcon was gliding overhead, these birds of prey look much stockier than the Kestrel. The Peregrine flew along the cliffs then back again allowing me to have a great view.
A flash of white as a Bullfinch nipped past me before landing in the twigs of a Bay tree, where it turned to allow to admire its bright pink chest.
From the woods, the sounds of movement amongst the dead leaves, the crunching sound of a Roe Deer bounding – two sounds, then nothing, followed by two more sounds as the hooves landed, this female then seen as she emerged onto the grassland.
Down at the cliffs the Guillemots are squashed onto their ledge, their growling sound wafting upwards, as most of them faced inwards this morning.
Flying low across the water was a Shag, in its beak was a stick - the other day I noticed breeding crests, now they are flying with nesting material so certainly thinking about breeding. Shags are one of the earliest seabird to breed.
Hanging in the air was a Great Black-backed Gull, gently swooping along the cliffs as a Herring Gull stood on a rocky outcrop.
A small group of about 6 Redwings flew between the scrubby Hawthorn and Blackthorn bushes, their marking difficult to see when they perched as they became silhouettes against the rising sun.