A loud squawk heard as a Jay floated across the sky, this bird initially silhouetted as it passed across the sun.
The orange glow of the orb in the sky, bathing Durlston Head and the Globe in a glorious light. As I stood and admired a Peregrine Falcon glided slowly past, the chunky body and swept back wings easy to see as it moved. This bird of prey was in no hurry today and circled the Globe before wafting out of sight.
Out to sea, the large shape of a Gannet gliding past, the bright sunlight making it difficult to see colours, but it looked like a immature as it didn’t seem to be completely gleaming white across its wings and back, but more mottled.
A small group of Goldfinches tinkled as they landed in the upper most fronds of a large Tamarisk bush. The red feathers on their heads and gold wings bars flickering as they moved.
From the water and cliffs the gargling growling of the Guillemots, a constant bustle in and out as they landed on and took off from the large upper ledge, a pitter-patter on the water as they flapped to take flight.
On looking more closely at these auks, almost all were in complete breeding plumage, with very few showing the white heads of the non-breeding winter plumage.
On the downs, a dirty white splodge amongst the Blackthorn scrub caught my attention, on inspection it was the backside of a Roe Deer, the rest of this creature and the second one alongside had completely blended in with the bull brown background, and I would not have noticed them without the white rump showing!
The soft squeaky call of two Bullfinches from deep within the Old Man’s Beard, which was rambling in abundance across the dry-stone wall, the wispy white features on the long brown ropes.
In the distance a Fox was trotting around the edge of the field, the ginger fur highlighted by the early sunlight – a great way to finish my early walk!