A cool and grey start to the day, but signs of the coming spring are irrepressible, with every day bringing a new ‘first’.
The path down to the Castle is bustling with volunteers, preparing for this morning’s parkrun. On the verge alongside, Green Alkanet is already starting to flower bright blue, with pale yellow Primroses in bloom nearby, with the leaves of Herb Robert, Dandelion, Cleavers and Lesser Celandine forming a dense carpet of spring green.
A Raven ‘cronks’ as it flaps over the Castle, with the shriek of a Jay heard from the gloom of the Holm Oak woodland.
A little too chilly for our Wall Lizard colony to be active this morning, though at one point yesterday a total of 9 were sunbathing on around the ‘Clock Times’ tablet on the wall of the Castle, with several Adders also seen.
Jackdaws swirl and squabble above the Observation Point, with a raft of black and white Guillemots bobbing on the water, outnumbered this morning by 24 Razorbills. Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Shag and Fulmar are also on the wing, with a Peregrine perched on the cliff-face at Tilly Whim.
Along the Diagonal Path, a Stonechat perches among the yellow flowers of a Gorse Bush, with Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits feeding among the scrub.
Always nice to hear the sweet repeated notes of a Song Thrush – this one singing from a dense stand of Blackthorn at the top of the Lighthouse Field, with Goldfinch, Blackbird and Pied Wagtail seen on the surrounding downland.
A Roe Deer gallops down the slopes of the Gully – his antlers still covered in ragged ‘velvet’, with a few of the leaves of Early Spider Orchid on the short turf.
To see more of our early spring wildlife, join me for a ‘Signs of Spring’ guided walk, starting from the Castle at 11am tomorrow!