Another completely different morning with the fog settled thickly over Durlston, creating dampness in the air and underfoot. With limited views, sounds coming to the fore, but surprisingly quiet as I walked around the woodland.
The planted Hydrangeas providing some bright pink and white splashes of colour to the area along with the brilliant orange of Montebretia.
A sudden blast from a Wren which was perched on the top of a dry-stone wall capper, the small beautifully marked brown bird trilling, its pale eye stripe showing well.
The churring of Blue Tits in the Hawthorn encouraged the use of my binoculars, this allowed me to watch the antics of not only Blue Tits, but Great Tits, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff and a flock of Long-tailed Tits – their long tails making them dangle as they landed in the branches.
On the downland the sudden flash of white landing on a rock alerted me to a Wheatear, this bird on its way back to Africa after spending the spring/summer breeding in Britain (sadly not here).
In the Blackthorn scrub, a Redstarts tail disappeared, another of the migrants returning south – can’t believe it can be that time of the year again already!
Out on the downs amongst the short grasses, my first Autumn Ladies Tresses of the year, this delicate white flowered orchid, only two inches high but a wonderful shape as the flowers spiral up the greyish-green stem.
Admiring this, enabled me to see a Spiral Snail (Acuta cochlicella) very slowly moving up the stem of a nearby Small Scabious. Patches of pinkish Wild Thyme, Squinancywort and Eyebright, along with the delicate heads of Lady’s Bedstraw, and the occasional bright pink of Centuary not effected by the lack of visibility!
Sweeping across, above the meadow a few Swallows, whilst yesterday evening Swifts were screaming around, enjoying the bounty of flying Ants which were in their thousands.