A hen Pheasant greeted me as I set out on my walk this morning. Rather than hurrying off in a frenzied run or flight, she hunkered down amongst the Ivy, relying on her mottled brown plumage to provide camouflage.
I headed out towards the downs, listening to the chirping of Blackbirds amongst the Blackthorn. The churr from a couple of Great Tits is also heard, before the birds reveal themselves and their brilliant colourful feathers – blue, green, and yellow.
The Sun rises below a sheet of dark grey cloud. At this low angle it alights the white paint of the Lighthouse and casts out long shadows behind the walls. Dipped in lee of the sunlight, the Gully appears dark and cold. A blanket of Traveller’s Joy clambers across the scrub. From afar it’s fluffy white beards could be mistaken for a frost upon the bare Blackthorn.
A lone Shag preens itself on the water below Subluminal. I descend over the rocky crag, alarming a group of Jackdaw to take flight from the Tamarisk. It’s tricky to walk over the angular rocks here, where every crack for soil has been filled with Samphire or Sea Thrift.
My walk continues around to Tilly Whim where 30 or so Woodpigeon dance around the large cave entrances. Two Greater Black-backed Gulls pass by in front of the Sun – now obscured amongst the clouds. A friendly Robin hops along the top of a dry stone wall, looking up at me as it jumps from one stone to the next.
Guillemots crowd their ledges below the Dolphin Hut and their trills can be heard as far as Burt’s blasted tunnel entrance. About 40 of the birds sit on the water, string out in a long line perpendicular to the cliffs. A few juveniles can be seen amongst them, identified by their white feathers which stretch from their bellies right up to the beak.