Countless Carrion Crows appeared to be in a shouting match with one another throughout the woodland this morning. The largest group I found were 5 in number, perched together in a Black Poplar tree. As the birds take flight they appear as black silhouettes against the grey sky, with long fingers of feathers stretching out from their wing tips.
I approach Sunnydale where the path becomes lined with fresh sprigs of Herb Robert and Three Cornered Leek. I catch a glimpse of Jay’s blue feathers between the tree trunks. Jays are quite shy birds, and sure enough, it swiftly moves out of sight.
At zigzag the cobbled steps are caked in mud, but the sea beckons me down. The sound of the waves become clearer and Common Gulls caw from above.
It’s high tide, and the waves lap onto a clear shore. The lack of easterlies have cleaned the beach of its seaweed, leaving just the occasional thick stem of Kelp pinned between the square pebbles.
On the water line, the rocks rounded smooth by the sea, then as you ascend the steep beach, they become angular, with the sharpest corners revealed on rocks jutting out from the clay. On one pebble I find a Limpet surprisingly high up the shore.
I make my way back up the landslip through the succession of Willow, Gorse, and Holm Oak. Between these dominating species, you can find an even more curious mix of Black Pine, Cypress and Pampas Grass. I find a pair of Great Tits scavenging through the undergrowth. They take it in turns versing through their calls, a favourite today was a two-tone call, with the first tone a higher pitch than the second.