Walking up Taskers path I was met with a cacophony of bird song from all directions. The cackle of a Green Woodpecker, a distant Skylark singing its heart out from high overhead, and the persistent caws from a group of Carrion Crows to name just a few.
Primroses stood out from a recently cut scallop in Taskers Meadow, as the weather steadily warms I’m seeing more and more colour out there. There were signs of Badgers digging in Large Copse as I passed through, the newly woodchipped path turned over in spots.
Crossing into Castle Wood there was a great deal of conversation between birds. Chiffchaffs chiffed and chaffed back and forth, Wrens competed to call the loudest, producing piercing trills, and Dunnocks seemed to be calling on rapid repeat.
A last-minute change of plan took me down to the coast path. On my way down the diagonal path I stopped to look at a Wayfaring Tree in bud. Recently trimmed it looks healthy and will hopefully make a bushy shrub. Down on the coast path the cliffs and waters teemed with life. Northern Fulmars wheeled around and around, the Guillemots and Razorbills bobbed and squawked on the water, Jack Daws chattered to each other, hopping off the wall and diving down as I neared. Gorse along the path is looking resplendent in yellow finery.
I stopped in Caravan Terrace to see if I could spot a butterfly or two, but nothing today. There were more Primroses there today and the looks of many more to come. A Bumblebee (too far away to more specifically identify) buzzed by in search of sweet nectar. The water down in Durlston Bay was still and glassy, with little wind to disturb the surface.
Robins flitted back and forth as I made my way back and towards the end of my final diary as my apprenticeship draws to a close. Sunlight streamed through high clouds and the air fresh and cool. Chaffinches blurted out their awkward call, and Wood Pigeons gathered in an Ash sunning themselves with ruffled feather.