Blue Tits bounce around the car parks and Magpies squark above. A fresh onion-scent can be smelt where swathes of Crow Garlic have sprouted towering over the grass. I head down Long Meadow listening to the repetition of chirping from a particularly chubby Chaffinch. It’s calls are echoed by other Chaffinch nearby, and many Chiffchaff can also be heard.
Gulls caw in the distance. As I reach Solent Road, I can already hear the rumbling of waves in Durlston Bay as they ebb and flow across the pebbles. Through the trees, a glimpse of Peveril Point, with the gig boat passing into Swanage Bay.
The scattering of Primrose across Caravan Terrace is a delight to see, and more flowers can be found across the Magnolia and Cherry plantings in the Dell.
Herring Gulls soar past as I descend to Durlston head. New leaves are bursting across the Clematis which tangles itself along the dry stone walls. Between the stones, the cracks are filled with Ivy, Herb Robert, Wild Madder, and Red Valerian.
Waves smash into the rocks below, and I catch a glimpse of a Shag before it dives out of sight. The sea cliffs awash with nesting activity. More Herring Gulls, Fulmar, Guillemot, Raven, and Razorbill all preparing for the breeding season. Flocks of Jackdaw and Woodpigeon float to and from the cliffs.
Topical in the news lately, for fun I decided to ask an AI chatbot to ‘Write an ode to a Guillemot’ and here’s what it came up with:
Oh guillemot, with feathers black and white, Your beauty takes my breath away in flight, In the northern seas you make your home, With the ocean’s waves you freely roam.
Your beak, so pointed and so sleek, A tool with which you catch your feast, The fish that swim below your feet, Are your sustenance, your daily treat.
Oh guillemot, you're small in size, But you possess such wondrous eyes, For they can see beneath the waves, And find the food that nature gave.