A glorious spring morning, I awoke to find an amazing, intricate ice fern traced on my window, after a hard frost last night.
The meadows sparkle, as the brilliant morning sunshine catches the frosty grass, with droplets of dew glittering like jewels, among gently bobbing Cowslips and the fluffy leaves of Common Mouse Ear.
Overhead, Skylarks cast their ‘careless rapture’ into the sky, while the hedgerows are filled with a chaotic symphony of bird calls and songs, from Robins and Blue Tits, punctuated by the ‘squeaky bike pump’ song of Great Tits, the accelerating song of Chaffinches, the soft ‘schwee’ of Greenfinches and the sweet repeated refrains of Song Thrushes.
Dark hedgerows are bursting into sprays of white Blackthorn blossom and bright green Hawthorn leaves, while a Sallow outside the Learning Centre is covered in fluffy catkins – already attracting the attention of a Buff-tailed Bumble Bee.
The short downland turf is studded with blue Hairy Violets, while many Early Spider Orchid rosettes are crowned with flower buds.
Spring is even transforming the Car Parks, where Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth and Daisies are all in bloom, along with my favourite spring flower, Lesser Celandine (it always reminds of a child’s drawing of the sun, blazing out of the grass!).
Along the cliffs, Fulmars swerve, stiff-winged in daredevil arcs to within inches of the cliffs. The gentle growls of Guillemots and Razorbills, rise up from the water below, with Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Shag also on the wing.
Returning along the Diagonal Path, Gorse fills the air with a lovely small of coconut, as a Bloody-nose Beetle plodding across the path in front of me.
Wonderful displays of Primroses on Caravan Terrace, where a Red Admiral is warming up it’s wings as the sun warms the air and melts the last of the frost.