Glorious out on the Park today, the sunshine weakly shining through the bubbles of cloud, but best of all the ground was fairly solid.
The chill of last night turning the muddy puddles into a hard surface, the frozen water cracking underfoot as I trod over, so not very frozen but a wonderful change.
The cold wind encouraging the small bird to hide well away from my prying eyes, a Wren called from the midst of the Bramble thicket, the loud blast catching my ear and despite scanning with binoculars no bird was visible.
A quick view of a yellow chest alerted me to a Great Tit which was perched in the Blackthorn scrub.
Loping across the sky two Magpies, their long tails showing against the blue sky, the black and white colours, tinged with blues and greens make them a very attractive bird – if they weren’t so common people would travel to admire them.
A squawk came from the Holm Oak tunnel, and a Jay emerged, another beautifully marked bird on close inspection.
On the cliffs the Guillemots were again in occupation of the breeding ledge. Well over one hundred counted, as they chatted and growled, their noisy interactions wafting up towards me on the clifftops. Most of them are in ‘summer breeding’ plumage, striking white front and dark brown backs.
Scattered across the downs a few Daisy flowers are showing, the white petals surrounding the yellow centre.
Clambering over the dry-stone wall, Traveller’s Joy, wisps of dirty white flowers on the long rope like stems.