A bright, breezy start to the day, with a strong westerly wind tearing across the Park – rattling through the bare branches of Blackthorn, roaring and hissing among the leaves of Holm Oak and sending bright yellow Sycamore leaves tumbling along the paths in the woodland.
As the sun rises, Holly leaves glisten in the sunshine and the tangled stems and silvery seeds of Old Man’s Beard shine among the hedgerows.
In the sheltered scrub around the Dell and Caravan Terrace, a crimson-breasted Bullfinch pops up, with a Goldcrest also seen among the tangle of branches. Most birds are keeping their heads down, but a Dunnock scuffles among the carpet of leaves below the Tufa Spring, with Blue and Great Tits also out foraging.
Guillemots whir in and out from the cliffs, or huddle on the ledges, with a few bright white Gannets passing by and a skein of Brent Geese silhouetted along the horizon.
A Great Black-backed Gull perches on a rocky outcrop near the Observation Point, with a Peregrine Falcon scanning the sea from a few metres above her.
Passing the Dolphin Watch Hut, a noisy gang of Jackdaws chatter and squabble, seeming to revel in the gusty wind as they tumble by in a loose flock.
Even in the depths of winter, there are still a few signs of the passing year, with a patch of Winter Heliotrope catching my eye – on such a windy morning, I had to crouch right down to catch the strong vanilla or marzipan scent from it’s pale pink flowers.
Along the Diagonal Path, it always lifts my spirits to sea the bright yellow flowers of Gorse in bloom – it is said the when Linnaeus first saw an English Gorse bush in flower for the first time, he fell down on his knees and wept for the beauty of it!