A wet and breezy start to the day, with the sea roaring softly in Durlston Bay as the wind hisses through the trees in the woodland.
A day out of the office yesterday, tidying up after our winter tree work in Sunnydale (I’m feeling it this morning!), where I noticed many new signs of spring. Hazel catkins, bobbing in the breeze are now joined by tight green leaf buds.
Beneath them, Primroses are starting to flower, their pale yellow flowers standing out among dense stands of the pale green leaves of Three-cornered Leek, the dark green leaves of Ramsons (giving off a powerful smell of Garlic as we rolled logs over them), delicate, ferny leaves of Herb Robert and a few of the heart-shaped leaves of Dog Violet. Also in bloom, the pretty blue and white flowers of Spring Crocus, marble-white Snowdrops and the first bright yellow Lesser Celandine I have seen in flower this year.
Up in the canopy, the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker echoes among the trees, with a Blackbird wrestling a worm from the soft ground of the Aviary Glade. The sweet notes of a Song Thrush and repetitive wheezing of Great Tits add to the chorus.
Green Alkanet is starting to flower on the way down to the Castle, with the dark green, corkscrew leaves of Crow Garlic (the wild version of Chives) poking out from grassland across the park.
A very different experience as I rounded the head, with the wind rising to a blast, spattering me with rain as I headed along the clifftop. Although the ledges are empty, several dozen Guillemots and Razorbills bounce on the waves below the cliffs, as Fulmars swoop and swerve serenely above them.
Shags battle the wind, with a Gannet passing by way out to sea, it’s white plumage almost luminous against the grey sea and sky. A Peregrine Falcon, her feathers ruffled by the wind clings to the cliffs near the Observation Point.