Into the garden I went passing the sweet scent of Hawthorn blossom. Looking into the pond I counted near a score of Smooth Newts whilst under a reptile sheet were two docile male Slow Worms. At the pond edge, protruding through Creeping Willow were white flowered stems of Lady’s Smock. Upon a mature Ash there were just buds yet a younger specimen had begun to open its leaves. I sniffed the flowers of a Wayfaring Tree, which I could only describe as odd.
Unsurprisingly a Pheasant cock crowed! A flying briefly landed upon my spectacles. The distinctive heart shaped leaves of Black Bryony were seen to be climbing natural scaffolding. Leaving the Centre, I saw three plants of Wild Parsnip showing their mustard-coloured umbels. Upon entering the downland I flushed a Magpie whilst a pair of Carrion Crow observed from the Small Copse. One Swallow skimmed the ground above the mile markers and swopped upon and over both a wall and scrub. Five Jackdaws searched the sward around the markers and nearby I noticed Ivy creeping out amongst Tor Grass, from the wooded edge of the goat plot. Possibly it was a second Swallow that flew past the lower mule marker.
Off Tilly Whim a trio of Razorbills were upon the sea, however, they all divided under the water only to reappeared together some one hundred 100 metres away. Looking over the cliff edge near the Tilly Whim Caves information panel Kidney Vetch, Sea Campion, Thrift and occasionally Red Valerian could be seen on the cliff face. Despite a linear raft of gargling and preening Guillemots stretching out from the cliff face, cave occupancy was full. I heard only the wing beats of an otherwise silent Raven that flew west. Gracefully, Fulmars went about their business. After the rumble of aircraft passage, a Skylark’s song reached my ears before I headed up the diagonal path. Amongst the Gorse, of course a female Stonechat perched. Shortly a male counterpart was seen in Elder at the Goat Plot edge. At floor level there was cuckoo spit hiding a Leaf Hopper Larvae, upon a sprig of Wild Madder. One Greenfinch stole the perch of another in an Ash above Ron’s Rest bench. A Chiff Chaff remained perched below despite the altercation. Swiftly a Long-Tailed Tit crossed the path before I entered castle wood. Here the tight buds of Bay were gradually opening. A Grey Squirrel scuttled across the ground near the Holm Oak archway of the woodchip path. More Swallows passed before I reached the centre.