It’s Spring Forward and after losing an hour’s sleep the beautiful seasonal weather can only put a smile on ones face. I decide to take the wildlife walk on the Route to Herston Trail starting from the car park and Lighthouse Road. In the car park the first thing I could hear is a Chiffchaff, as well as many a Robin, Magpie, Crow, Blackbird and Blue Tit, and a Wood Pigeon could be seen.
From Lighthouse path, a Raven was heard in the distance and spotted is a Great Tit, Dunnock, Wren, Goldfinch above me, as well as a Greenfinch and a Chaffinch within Blackthorn and Hawthorn to the right of me.
Pass a gate, I follow the new Route to Herston Waymarkers a couple of our great volunteers put up yesterday. I soon hear Skylarks, 2x Humans and 2 of their domestic Wolves are spotted walking past. The Hawthorn and Blackthorn are in bloom and the yellowness of the European Gorse changes the colour of the landscape.
Into field 10a, another Chiffchaff is heard down in the gully, as well as Robin and a Song Thrush, a Great Tit is heard in the other field right of me. I do notice as I walk, the strength of the wind, rather fresh this morning, as an unidentified Bumblebee flies quickly past me and a Pheasant heard in the distance.
Climb over stepping stones into field 6 where there are large anthropogenic mounds that I believe were created from the stone quarries back in the 19th century, among this is the more natural ant hills, as well as the European Gorse, Brambles, Blackthorn and Hawthorn. Heard in the field was another Chiffchaff, Skylarks, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, and spotted was a Robin flying away from Elder.
Very briefly I go into field 3 turning left onto a track with hedge rows between, as I go onto the track, a Song Thrush is heard in the distance and a Skylark is seen up high. I investigate field 2, here take my binoculars and see 2x Crows, 1 male Pheasant, 3x Roe deer, and in the neighbour’s field spotted is 3x Black ponies, and 2x Herring Gulls. In Field 1 there were at least 24 Crows. I also noticed the track was no longer muddy. It was very bad during the winter!
Passing over the Quarry Road where Daffodils are spotted and into the Warren where plenty of European Gorse, Brambles, Long Grasses and some Elder are spotted. Here there are Goldfinches, Song Thrush, Wren, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, and Skylarks. Also spotted here is Winter Heliotrope and clumps of Great Horsetail growing. As I carry on walking beside Old Tip, I notice many a Herring Gull. Then, realising it was 10 minutes to 9 I decided to stop the diary, panic and run back to the Learning Centre! On the way I noticed some Cowslips, took a picture of them to then see that it was in yesterday’s Diary!
Happy Mother’s Day for all those mothers!