Down to the Castle first to check on the tidy-up after yesterday’s Wedding – all going well, so continued down to the Globe. As I did so two Swallows swooped over and circled round the Victorian stone sphere. The long tails and back a steely dark blue in the sunshine.
Just coming out along the coastline the round pink heads of Thrift, while a few of the white flowers of Sea Campion are also catching the eye.
My first Wild Clary of the year this morning, a fairly short one with quite intense purple petals, in bloom alongside a few Bulbous Buttercups.
On the water, Guillemots galore, 200 counted as they bobbed, not in their typical lines but instead scattered like confetti, while on the ledges another 200 or so were packed together. The first eggs should have now been laid and the parents beginning their 7-8 weeks of egg and chick care before heading off to sea for the summer.
Soaring around 3 Fulmars, just fantastic to watch as they come close to the cliffs, dangle their webbed feet out, then swing away again - a wonderful way to spend your time watching seabirds!
An Oystercatcher passed by, the loud piping call of this bird helping me to find it as it flew, then the orange bill was easy to spot. A flock of Kittiwakes also moved past, their calls making them easy to identify (with a bit of imagination you can make out that they call their name!). Passing in the distance 6 Whimbrel reported.
The loud buzzing of 2 Buff-tailed Bumble Bees heard as they buzzed the Blackthorn blossom, while 2 Speckled Woods butterflies spiralled around each other, one eventually landing on a shiny Ivy leaf.
A quick glimpse of a Chiffchaff, but my attention was taken by a Whinchat which was perched on the edge of the Hawthorn tree, very different head markings compared to the Stonechat which is a close relative. Behind it a couple of Linnets were also sat.