“The air was bright for looking:
Most far in blue, aloft,
Clouds steered a burnished drift;
Larks' nip and tuck arising
Came in for my love's praising...”
From ‘Song for a Summer’s Day’ by Sylvia Plath
A beautiful morning, with skies of dizzying blue and the heat already rising off the pavements as I walked up the hill.
Stepping into the cool green of the woodland was like a draught of cold water! Young Blackcaps twitter from among the branches, with the soft cooing of Woodpigeons murmuring through the still air.
In patches of sunshine, Speckled Woods dogfight and whirl, while Red Admirals, a Painted Lady and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth all feed on a patch of flowering Hemp Agrimony near the Play Trail.
Large Whites flutter drunkenly around a Buddleia, with Common Blues, Meadow Browns and Walls seen around the meadows and downs.
Above Long Meadow, a Kestrel quarters the field, scanning the flowery, uncut sward at the northern end for signs of prey (their vision extends into the ultra-violet, making the urine trails if small mammals ‘light up’ like neon!
Bloody-nose Beetles plod mechanically across the short turf, with a Southern Hawker Dragonfly in shades of shimmering green and blue whirs past my head on the way down to the Castle.
Twittering flocks of brightly coloured Goldfinches bustle around the drying heads of Teasel and Woolly Thistle, with Stonechats ‘ticking’ as they pop in and out of the Gorse along the Diagonal Path.
As I unlocked the Gallery, Swallows tumble and swirl above the cliffs below me, starting to gather into larger flocks, ready for the long journey ahead.
Katie popped in (accompanied by Durlston Dog Intern Evie the Collie/Lab cross!) with sightings of Willow Warblers and most exciting of all, what could only have been an Osprey, heading from the downs out to sea!
Today’s diary written by Ali Tuckey