After a night of pounding rain (with over 20mm) recorded, after a sprinkling of rain the sun is starting to break through a sky streaked with silvery cloud.
Despite a steady south-westerly breeze, the air is full of birdsong. The rhythmic wheezing of Great Tits is accompanied by the ‘schwee’ of Greenfinches, the disyllabic call of Chiffchaffs, the scratchy warble of Whitethroats, the sweet, breathless carolling of Skylarks, with the manic cackle of a Green Woodpecker ringing out across Long Meadow.
A few snatches of song from a Yellowhammer on Lighthouse Green, with the first Cirl Bunting I’ve heard at Durlston (spotted by Hamish) singing from among the scrub near the Learning Centre! Down in the Gully, the weird reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler, while nearby a Garden Warbler was also in song.
A lovely scent of Blackthorn blossom and wet grass drifts across the meadows, where Cowslips bob in the breeze, with Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Goldfinches busying themselves among the hedges.
On the downs, Early Spider Orchids swarm across the short turf, with Early Purple and Green-winged Orchids also becoming more plentiful, dotting the downs with scraps of pink and purple, with Common Mouse-ear and Hairy Violet also in bloom.
Alongside the path down to the Castle, blue-flowered Green Alkanet is in bloom, along with Jack-by-the-Hedge (or Garlic Mustard) and Cow Parsley.
The first eggs are starting to appear on the Guillemot ledges (a colleague picked up a lovely blue, speckled egg-shell from the Coast Path this morning – most likely stolen by a Raven or Herring Gull). Nice views of a pair of Razorbills perched high up on the cliffs, with Fulmars carving through the air on stiff wings just below them.
Walking back to the centre, a patch of Soft Rush has appeared just alongside the new path at the top of Long Meadow, showing just how wet this clayey part of the Park can get!