After yesterday’s rain – only 5.9mm despite the almost constant drizzle – the ground was scattered with a variety of Snails and Slugs.
On inspection lots of Garden Snails, including a group of about 10 sliding over a meter square patch of short turf. Also the very different shaped conical Spire Snail (small and tall like a church spire) and the Trapdoor Snail (with a hard ‘door’ to close up the opening once the snail has gone back into the shell) as well as the Wall Snail, found unsurprisingly on walls! It has a flattened look like a flying saucer with a thin ridge around it!
In the sunshine, the sea was flickering a gorgeous blue with lots of sparkling white crests, skimming over the top a couple of dark black (with tinge of green) Shags, followed by another two youngsters, much paler to look at.
Flying past me we two of this year Great Black-backed Gull chicks, large and all a mottling of brown, while an adult perched on the cliff face.
The squeaking call of a Rock Pipit drew my attention to the grassy edge, to watch these two birds, but again I was distracted by the brightly coloured yellow flowers of Golden Samphire and the green Rock Samphire. Having spotted those my thoughts turned to our very own Durlston Rock Sea-lavender, which grows in the same area, and there it was, the tiny purple-reddish flowers now out, but easily overlooked!
Continuing on the august plants, I had a look for the delicate Harebells but was unsuccessful, however instead virtually tripped over the first few of our final Orchid of the year the Autumn Ladies Tresses, with its almost grey spiralled stem of tiny flowers.
As I went to check the water for the cattle, lots of Carline Thistles, but mostly closed up as they wait for the sunshine to bake down before opening up. Keep an eye out for the Picnic Thistle, (or Stemless or Dwarf Thistle) which when the flower is out has a bright purple thistle flower, but at other times is a mass of spiky leaves waiting for the unsuspecting picnicker to sit on!