Highly interchangeable skies this morning, with great dark clouds sweeping across to reveal clear blue skies. Rain can be seen falling in massive plumes across the channel and towards the Isle of Wight. Strong south-westerly winds had a maximum gust of 53mph overnight. At times it gave me brain-freeze and I found relief in shelter behind the patches of leafless Blackthorn which were intertwined with bright red Rosehips.
Initially, not many birds were out braving the winds on my walk. The odd few Woodpigeon whipped around above me, alongside a couple Carrion Crow. I did spot a Jay in the Holm Oak as I pulled up in the car park this morning.
My walk took me across the meadows, inspecting a couple dry stone walls being rebuilt, before heading down to the coast path. I found a good number of Yellow Field Cap in South Field, the youngest and smallest of which stood a brilliant bright yellow, whereas the older ones turning a greyish-brown with a wider cap, upturned at the edges.
The sea is wild mess of white-water, with huge swells exploding against the rocks at Tilly Whim. It burst up through the blowhole and sends sea spray right up through the gully. One particularly big wave causes water to crash across the highest main ledge, and it cascades back over the cliffs to the sea.
Despite all of this, the coastal birds appear unphased. A couple Greater Black-backed Gulls patrol the cliffs, a Shag flies out to sea, and a few Rock Pipits hop and flit above the dead heads of Wild Carrot. Lastly, a Peregrine battles through the winds, giving me a good amount of time to watch it, and it progresses slowly westward.