A superb view of a male Roe Deer, as it stood barely 15ft away, the dull brown fur allowing it to blend in beautifully with the hedges behind, it was the outline that gave it away – the prongs on the antlers showing above the top of the scrubby Bramble bushes, both covered in a soft furry velvet. As I slowly walked on, he turned his head a little – what a great encounter to start the day.
From the skies above the melodious song of a Skylark wafted down, this, song continued to be a feature of the rest of my patrol, with Skylarks in flight above many of the meadows and on the downland.
The alarm calling of a Blackbird from the Hawthorn, this black male then moved to the branches of an Elder to perform its song.
The Blackthorn bushes are now showing their buds, still closed but with a tinge of white as the new flowers prepare to burst through, leaving a pink tinge to the scrub.
The ‘seeping’ calling of a Greenfinch was answered by the rattling crescendo and fall of a Chaffinch, as chittering of Blue Tits and the ‘teach-er-teach-er’ song of a Great Tit added to the chorus.
All the cattle have now left the Country Park for a month or two, the female to calve and some of the youngsters have moved to another farm in the valley. This will give the fields a rest from grazing enabling the amazing diversity of early spring flowers to emerge without being nibbled.
Along the coast a Peregrine Falcon called, a loud piercing sound bringing this, our fastest bird, to my attention as it glided along ahead of a small flock of Herring Gulls.
Matching the Peregrine for flying splendour was a Fulmar, its narrow wings remaining very straight as it manoeuvred through the sky, the dumpy body.