A mild, but breezy morning, but there is a definite feel of spring around the park.
In the woodland, Grey Squirrels squabble and chatter among the canopy, with the croaking of a Raven from high up in a Monterey Cypress, as a Jay bursts from cover with an explosive cackle and a flash of blue wing feathers.
Around the Aviary Glade, Spring Crocuses are in bloom – their delicate flowers brightening the woodland floor, with a few yellow flowers of Lesser Celandine, starting to unfurl as the sky brightens. Around them, the fresh leaves of Snowdrops, Dog Violets, Herb Robert, Cow Parsley and Jack-in-the-Pulpit (or Wild Arum) and Daffodil carpet the ground, along with the first leaves of garlic-scented Ramsons.
Trees are also starting to flower and bud. Sycamore is covered with bright green scaly leaf buds, with Hazel and Sallow covered in catkins and a Flowering Cherry ‘hung with blossom on the bough’.
Near the Castle, Flowering Currant is in full bloom (though too far away to smell it’s bitter, musky scent).
Some fine displays of Primroses on Caravan Terrace, where Bullfinch, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest weave among the scrub, with a Firecrest also seen nearby.
Along the cliffs Fulmars sweep in smooth curves around the cliffs, with a Cormorant flapping by just below the clifftop and a Peregrine scanning the cliffs from her perch near the Observation Point.
A Black Redstart hops around the rocks at the bottom of the Gully, with Stonechats among the Gorse along the Diagonal Path.