The tops of the meadows have been dusted a sunny yellow colour, with the blossoming of Cowslips, Buttercups, Charlock, and Horseshoe Vetch. Patches of a blue have also started to appear, with Chalk Milkwort on the short turf, and scatterings of Pale Flax amongst the longer grasses.
We wander out to the far side of the park, listening to the continuous Chiffchaff chatter and the dozy Blackbird song. The fluffy reddish-brown coats of the Hereford cows can be found near to the west boundary. There are 34 in total; 19 cows and 15 calves, all of whom were still laid about on the ground. The little ones looking very cute, all curled up as they sleep.
This year there is an incredible abundance of Green-winged Orchids – usually confined to a small corner of one field, they are now spread in good number along the lower slopes of the downs. Inter-twined of course, with the usual Early Spider Orchids and Early Purple Orchids.
We were much less enthralled by the number of Ticks we picked up, walking through just a short section of long grass.
It’s getting harder to spot the Adders at Tilly Whim, with the grass growing higher and the fact they will be basking here much earlier in the mornings, with the earlier sunrises and warmer weather. Instead, I enjoy watching a pair of Great Tits fly back and forth across the cave entrance, each time returning with a piece of grass to line their nest inside the bollard.
Further along the coast path, I hear a Whitethroat singing, and catch a glimpse of a Peregrine Falcon quickly swooping past. The noisy 400-strong colony of Guillemots go about their usual business; tending to their eggs and bickering with one another for space.
The bird ringers reported a single Swift above the car parks early this morning, but a generally quiet morning beside the usual resident birds.