Today is the first day of the Boats of the Bay children’s trail, so I decide to follow the this to see what we can find between 8 and 9 in the morning. It’s nice warm morning, some may complain about this beautiful weather, but I won’t as once summer is gone, it’s gone for months! From the Castle, I hear Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins calling, and a Firecrest.
I take the Clifftop Trail, stop at the Dell area here a Butterfly Bush, Ragwort, and Horsetail are a few of the flora species spotted. Without binoculars, I sore what I thought was a Dragonfly species, so I take my binoculars to detect the species – unfortunately it was just some white fur on a spider’s web – boring I thought! However, around the Dell area a Wren can be heard singing away, as well as a Great Tit, and a Jackdaw calls above me, while Small White, Gatekeeper and a Brown Meadow butterfly are each spotted at least once within this area.
Continuing, Durlston Bay is quite wavy, perhaps due to a predominately easterly wind, a Black-backed Gull is spotted over the bay as bits of Restharrow and Ragwort are seen on the ground. Many Meadow Browns are spotted along this area, a Herring Gull squarks, and you know you reach Durlston Head by the domination of Tamarisk. Various solitary bees are also seen pollinating Sow Thistle.
Passing the globe, a couple more Small Whites are spotted as Meadow Browns flutter around Blackthorn and Brambles – still only a few ripened Blackberries. A Wren sings away and a Blue Tit call within the Holm Oak and Tamarisk to the right of me. Reaching the Viewpoint I spot 2x House Martins above me and a Cormorant on the lower ledges.
On the rest of the walk along the coastal path and diagonal path, the sound of many Grasshoppers and Bush-crickets are heard spotting a Meadow Grasshopper, as well as Goldfinches flying above me, a Swallow, Linnets, Blue and Great Tits, as well what I believe is a Garden Cross Spider and it’s marvellous cobweb.
Have a great Tuesday!