All the weather this morning! After a mild, sunny start, a grey tide of cloud sweeps across the sky, followed by a sprinkling of rain before the sun pushes through, tracing ridges of gold across a crumpled cloudscape.
Spring is busting out all across the Park! The hedges are covered in a white foam of Blackthorn blossom, filling the air with it’s sweet scent, while seas of golden Cowslips bob in the breeze (with many more still to flower).
50 shades of green among the scrub, with Hawthorn leaves almost eye-wateringly bright green. Here and there, the first flowers of Meadow Vetchling (the flower a little like a small yellow Sweet Pea) tangle around the grasses, with the slender stems of Pale Flax starting to appear, with the very first pale blue flowers dotted around the meadows. Near the Large Copse, the musk of a Fox hangs in the air – although not the nicest smell, it’s not one I have noticed here for a while, as numbers have been quite low over the last few years.
The downland turf swarms with orchids, including many hundreds of ‘furry’ Early Spider Orchids – each lip bearing a blue or yellow ‘Pi’ symbol, with dark pink Green-winged Orchids scattered around them, along with the taller, paler, Early Purple Orchids – their leaves looking as if they have been spattered with ink.
Along the cliff-top, dense patches of white-flowered Early Scurvy Grass carpet the turf, with the first flowers of Thrift emerging from slim, red buds.
In the woods, Jack-by-the-Hedge, Three-cornered Leek and Ramsons add a garlicky tang to the air – all three now in flower, as Grey Squirrels squabble and chatter among the canopy.
On the ledges, the first Guillemot eggs have been laid, while below them, a large ‘bazaar’ of Guillemots and Razorbills growl softly as they bob on the waves. Fulmars wheel in dizzying arcs above them, with Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Shag also on the wing.