A breezy start to the day, after another night of heavy rain (more than 50mm in the last 3 days), though for the first time in a while I returned to the office after the early rounds without dripping on the carpet!
Despite the damp, windy weather, more signs of spring are appearing by the day. Down on Caravan Terrace, 6 Primroses are in bloom – delicate yellow flowers among the drab brown grasses, with many more in leaf.
At the back of the ledge, a steady flow of water patters down the cliff face, among patches of bright red Cotoneaster. In the sheltered scrub below the bridge, Robins, Wrens, Great Tits and a Goldcrest weave through the tangled scrub, with the melodious syncopated notes of a Dunnock ringing out from the dark forest of Blackthorn scrub above.
Near the top of the Lighthouse Road, nice to see a Bullace (a wild plum) newly in bloom, it’s white flowers and shiny twigs looking very eye-catching among glossy green Ivy and bushy clumps of the pale green Usnea lichen (without a lens it’s hard to be sure of the species).
Our cows are happily grazing away in the Lighthouse Field, where a Sycamore at the bottom of the Gully is filled with Jackdaws, looking like large, black fruit among the branches. A steady stream of water rushes down the gully, tumbling over the rocks at Tilly Whim.
Once again, the cliffs are bustling with activity, as Guillemots whir in and out, with a steady flow of birds returning to the ledges from the east.
Fulmars cut effortlessly through the wind, with Shags and Great Black-backed Gulls also on the wing. A Raven passes overhead near the Lighthouse, rolling and tumbling as it battles the wind.
As I write, the rain has settled in again, though a few patches of blue sky and a weak winter sun to the south suggest a day of mixed weather ahead.