I start the diary from the castle to walk much of the Wildlife Trail to check the Waymarkers put up by one of our great volunteers over the past week whilst doing the diary. I go straight into the copse, full of Holm Oak and Sycamore as well as Stinking Iris, Harts-Tongue Fern, Lords and Ladies, and Nettles to ground floor – lacking any other plants associated with Woodlands due to the Holm Oak Leaves being evergreen and shading the ground keeping the sun off. Within the copse, a Robin, Magpie, Goldfinches and Wren are all heard singing away.
I get onto the tarmac lighthouse path head left following the Wildlife Waymarkers, within Lighthouse Field, I notice the Blackthorn in bloom of white, the yellow bloom of European Gorse, with the glistening calm of the English Channel. I go down to the gully and bridge, I hear Pheasant in background, Chiffchaff, Wren, Goldfinches, Jay, a Robin, and see a Wood Pigeon and a Dunnock.
Continuing, I follow the Wildlife trail up the hill and past a gate, within this field and the next heard and seen are Skylarks, Crows, Meadow Pipets, Linnets, Chiffchaffs, Robins and Blackbirds.
At the end of field 6 I go into Field 3 briefly head right and onto a track with Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Brambles as hedgerows. Here I investigate field 2 and passed on to neighbours where I spot 3x black horses, 2x Hereford Cattle, and 1x male Pheasant. From here I could also hear a Song Thrush in the distance.
Following the Wildlife Trail, I head right into the bottom of Eight Acres, here and more so in Johnstons many a cowslip is spotted, also along these fields 2x Magpies, Linnets, Chiffchaffs, Meadow Pipets, Skylarks, Robin and Blackbird.
Into Saxon and South Fields another Chiffchaff is heard singing away as well as a Robin, a Crow is seen chasing a Kestrel off in the distance, Dog Violets are spotted as well as a Raven, and a Dunnock is heard.
Into the next field I hear yet another Chiffchaff and some Goldfinches. I then quickly pop into the bird hide for a few seconds to see if I could spot a Carl Bunting – no such luck for the 30 seconds I spent there, but I did see a Great Tit, Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Blue Tit and a few Cowslips.
Merlin App detected: Chiffchaff, Robin, Wren, Pheasant, Jay, Linnet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Water Pipit (Not seen!), Blackbird, and Dunnock.