Blue skies and a hint of a breeze, spreads out over the park this morning, its set to be another lovely day. Heading along Long Meadow with wonderful views over Old Harry Rocks and beyond. The meadow is full of life, pale blue from Pale Flax, bright shiny yellow from Buttercups and purple from Red Clover. The colours all melding together to make the bright morning even brighter. A Horse Chestnut covered in candles of white blossom are just starting to turn and go over. Hawthorn branches sag under the weight of snowy white blossom.
Though as I pass an Oak, I’m a little saddened to see someone has ripped the Ivy off the tree’s trunk. Ivy doesn’t harm the tree, it only uses it as a climbing frame, Ivy is also a great source of nectar for our pollinators late in the season, as well as a habitat for large range of other species.
Heading up the coast, the loud call of a Wren cuts through the noise of the other birds in the area, the tiny bird loud but hard to spot. Overhead Great Tits flit about the branches of a tall Sycamore. Lime green flower stems dangling down from the Sycamores branches. The flower clumps almost look like a bunch of grapes stem covered in tiny fluffy green flowers.
Down Durlston Head a Stinking Iris can be seen just starting to flower, the large purple flower just starting to unfurl. Above it an Elder Tree is covered in tight clusters of tiny white flowers forming a plate of flowers.
The cliffs are a hive of activity, Jackdaws flitting in all directions and Fulmars swooping in and out of the cliffs. The gurning sound of Guillemots erupting from below before calming back down periodically. Two Herring Gulls tuck themselves into the cliffs edge as they perch on an outcropping. Below a large Great Black Backed Gull nestles down into what I presume to its nest.
The small path towards the Learning Centre from the light house road is full of Speckled Brown Butterflies flitting from one flower to the next. Oxeye Daises towers of Speedwell growing along the edges of the path.