The dry weather continues with much of the grasslands turning brown. In places, the clay soil has contracted so much that a great crack has formed in the earth - at Long Meadow one is large enough to fit my whole arm inside!
Hemp Agrimony and Willowherb are now going over, with the abundance of pink flowers replaced by small fluffy seeds that await a strong breeze to carry them far and wide. Honeybees and Hoverflies make the most of the remaining nectar, whilst the butterflies, Wall Brown, Painted Lady, and Small White find interest in the Ragwort and Fleabane blossom.
I head down around the clifftop trail following the sound of Blue Tits as i wander, with Swallows migrating overhead. The beautiful lilac Sea Aster has now bloomed beyond the seaward wall and sits below the rose-pink Tamarisk flowers.
I lean over the wall to watch the waves lap the cliffs below, when a loud swoosh above my head takes me by surprise. I look up to see a female Peregrine Falcon soaring high into the sky.
Wrens and Stonechats sound as I ascend the diagonal path back towards the Castle. Blackberries and Rosehips ripen upon the scrub. Crimson-red Bryony berries are draped through and Old Man’s Beard smothers the scrub and covered in fluffy white ‘beards’.
I return to the office to find the bird ringers have just caught a beautiful Icterine Warbler. At first they thought it might be a Melodious Warbler (previously just caught three times at Durlston) rather than this species which is identified by its longer wing feathers. Both species usually miss the UK on their migration south to Africa, however the Icterine usually moves much further to the East through Germany and beyond.