A thick grey covering of cloud met me this morning, and, as I strolled along the meadow path some of the ground underfoot seemed less muddy – hopefully this will continue for the rest of the week!!
From the Hawthorn tree came the calling of a Wren, while a Dunnock was scrabbling around underneath. As I watched this bird, it fluffed itself up, making itself looks bigger.
From overhead came the calling from 3 Siskins, these small yellow and black finches are often heard as they fly over during the winter months.
As I headed down towards the sea the wonderful sound of Razorbills could be heard. The gentle ‘grrrrring’ as they floated alongside each other, less raucous than the chattering of the Guillemots.
Looking over the stone wall as I reached the clifftop, the Guillemots and Razorbills were scattered across the water, groups and groups of them.
The urge to count was just too much for me, and today the Razorbills were the focus of my attention, the darker blacker bodies and pairing behaviour making them easy to tell from the other auks. My counts made 55 Razorbills, possibly the biggest number we have had below the cliffs – 20 years ago and the numbers were closer 15!!
A couple of Shags flying low, skimming the surface, on one of them the crest was wafting, and its yellow facial gape fairly obvious. Circling around the cliffs at least three Fulmars, always a pleasure to watch.
Further out, 6 Red-throated Divers were heading past, flying fairly low to the grey sea.
On the coastal slopes, some of the patches of Gorse are sprinkled with their bright yellow flowers, perched on one of the prickly branches was a Robin, while another was bestowed with a Magpie