Our last seabird boat trip of the year last night – always a little bittersweet, as we say goodbye to the bulk of our breeding seabirds for the year. Great views of Guillemots, enjoying their last week or so on the cliffs (now the ‘kids’ have left home!), before returning to sea for the winter. Just to the west of Dancing Ledge, 4 Puffins perched or waddled along the ledges (their Latin name is translated as ‘little brother of the arctic’ as their shuffling gait is reminiscent of a monk, shuffling along in his robes!), with a couple more on the water.
Still possible to get some good views of Guillemots, Razorbills, elegant, stiff-winged Fulmars and Great Black-backed Gulls from the clifftop, with a Peregrine Falcon, her feathers fluffed against the wind scanning for prey below the Observation Point, with a singe Gannet passing by out at sea – a shaft of sun catching it’s creamy yellow throat.
On Caravan Terrace, nice to see a pair of Bullfinches (male and female), following each other around the tangle of Honeysuckle and Old Man’s Beard. On the grass below, St. John’s Wort, swaying spikes of Woundwort, Red Valerian, Wild Thyme, candy-striped Restharrow and Selfheal make for a colourful sward. Prickly-leaved Madder scrambles across the cliff-face, covered in tiny, star-shaped flowers.
In the shelter of the trees, a few Meadow Brown and Marbled White butterflies whirl, with an Emperor Dragonfly whirring along beneath the Holm Oaks on the way down to the Castle.
The meadows are looking truly spectacular at the moment, with thousands of pink Pyramidal Orchids, white and pink Wild Carrot, lilac Field Scabious and dark purple Knapweed are all in bloom. Yellow Rattle is fading to soft bronze and some of the taller grasses are almost up to waist height.
Overhead, Skylarks are in good voice, their beautiful, liquid notes pouring out into the wind.