A bit of a nip in the air this morning, although some brilliant sunshine is quickly warming the air, illuminating patches of brilliant blue sky, streaked with high cloud.
All around the Park, the querying whistles of Willow Warblers ring out through the still air as they weave and flutter among the hedgerows, feeding up on insects as the autumn approaches.
Goldfinches are also busy feeding along the top of the Lighthouse Field, tearing seeds from the heads of Woolly Thistle and carefully picking at the spiky heads of Teasel.
Overhead, Swallows and House Martins swirl among the warming air, as a Green Woodpecker bobs across Boy’s Brigade, as if bounced on elastic.
Down on Caravan Terrace, a Goldcrest weaves it’s way through the canopy, with flashes of it’s bright yellow crests, with the dark pink of it’s breast looking dazzling in the ruddy morning light.
On the ‘cliff’ at the back of the terrace, a Wren hunts down a Meadow Brown butterfly, hopping and pouncing, only for it to flutter out from between its toes, escaping, only to be recaptured a few second later and escape again. A wonderful chance to see the intricately patterned plumage of the Wren in many different shades of brown.
A patch of bright yellow Common Toadflax at the edge of the terrace catches my eye – the wild version of a Snapdragon and one of the most brightly coloured flowers still in bloom.
Buddleia is also still in flower nearby, attracting the attention of a Red Admiral and several Large and Small White butterflies, with a White-tailed Bumble Bee also sipping nectar as it crawls across the conical flower-heads.
Along the cliffs, Shags preen on a low rock near the water, with a Great Black-backed Gull perched higher up on the cliff and a Peregrine Falcon gliding along just below the clifftop.