A much cooler start to the day, but out of the wind, golden winter sunshine quickly warms the air and makes the silver stems of dry grasses, glossy leaves of Ivy and bare branches of Hawthorn and Blackthorn gleam.
A chilly north-westerly breeze sweeps across the meadows, but in the lee of the hedgerows, Dunnocks forage through the leaf litter and a charming ‘extended family’ of Long-tailed Tits hunt for breakfast along the Drove, so intent on breakfast they don’t seem to notice me approach to within a couple of yards.
Snatches of song from Song Thrushes, Great Tits and Blue Tits cut through the breeze, with a few of the sweet notes of a Skylark heard from somewhere overhead.
A Buzzard wheels steadily over the valley to the north, with a few Pied Wagtails also passing overhead.
The cliffs are bustling with activity, with the gentle growling of a large ‘bazaar’ of Guillemots rising up from below the ledges. A couple of dozen smart black Razorbills are mixed in among the group, with lots more Guillemots watching from the ledges above.
Fulmars zoom in tight arcs around the cliff-face with effortlessly mastery – cackling to their partners as they approach their nest-sites.
Shags flap steadily by below them, with a Peregrine Falcon zooming along just below the clifftop.
Near Tilly Whim, a brief glimpse of a Sparrowhawk flashing across the path and into the tangle of yellow-flowered Gorse and Blackthorn.
Hints of the coming spring can be found even around the car parks, where the glossy, heart-shaped leaves of Lesser Celandine reflect the morning sun, with fresh leaves of Cow Parsley and Herb Robert starting to appear. Outside the Castle, Daffodils are almost ready to break their buds, with a few Snowdrops in bloom at Sunnydale.