A still and misty start to the day, with a thick blanket of foggy cloud, (filled with Saharan sand) turning the sky a strange gold-grey, muffling sound and making the silhouettes of Blackthorn and Hawthorn loom ominously.
All around the meadows, the carolling of Skylarks fills the air, with 7 or 8 among the grass around the fields.
Lovely to see the first Cowslips appearing in the Meadows, brightening a drab morning with their brilliant yellow flowers – the first of thousands more to come over the next few weeks.
A few early flowers of Hairy Violet stud the downland, with the tiny white flowers of Whitlow Grass also in bloom on the short turf.
On a grassy path, a Bloody-nose Beetle plods mechanically along – his smaller size, and ‘feathery’ feet identifying him as a male.
The cliffs are buzzing with activity as breeding season approaches. The ledges are crowded with Guillemots, with the soft growls of many more rising up from the gently lapping water below. On the waves, Guillemots are outnumbered by much blacker Razorbills, with 20 on the sea this morning.
Above them, Fulmars circle the clifftop, swooping in to almost brush the cliffs with their wingtips, with Great Black-backed Gulls wheeling in stately curves, Shags flapping ponderously by and Rock Pipits skittering along just over the wall.
A Peregrine Falcon perches just below the Observation Point, with the harsh croaks of a Raven perched on top of the lower Mile Marker.
In the woods, Lesser Celandine carpets the woodland floor with it’s heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers, with Primroses, Spring Crocus, Herb Robert and Daffodil also in bloom.