A blowy start to the day, with a strong south-westerly wind roaring through the boughs of Holm Oak and Sycamore and sending high cloud careering across a brightening sky.
Durlston Bay is criss-crossed with a net of white foam, with a flickering, chaotic pattern of rough water of Peveril Point and Durlston Head. Round the head, Fulmars slice through the gusts in elegant curves on stiff wings, as a Shag battles along into the wind just above the water.
Guillemots are crowded onto the ledges, bobbing their heads to their neighbours, or craning nosily round as new birds fly in, as they ‘catch up’ after a winter at sea.
A Raven swoops past, just above my head at the Observation Point – a large twig in her beak, before deliberately stalling in mid-air to drop down and into the cliffs below – early breeders, they will already have a nest on the go.
Here and there, the fresh leaves of Red Valerian are starting to appear among the stones of the Coast Path wall.
In the sheltered scrub below the bridge to Caravan Terrace, the smart plumage of a Goldcrest catches my eye, as it weaves its way through the sheltered canopy, with Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Robin and Wren all out feeding nearby.
The short turf in the Saxon Field is coming back to life as spring approaches, with the fresh green rosette leaves of Early Spider Orchid visible, among patches of the fluffy leaves of Common Mouse Ear and the dry flowerheads and leaves of Carline Thistle – like little bronze sculptures.
A carpet of green is starting to spread across the woodland floor, with Cow Parsley, Dog Violet, Lords and Ladies, Spring Crocus, Snowdrop and Herb Robert all in new leaf, while round the Aviary Glade, Hazel is starting to bloom.