A fresh autumn morning rolls over the park with the sun just poking through the cloud cover. Large flocks of Wood Pigeon swirl above the car park large groups heading in perfect formation in all directions.
Heading down the steep path to the cliff tops the usual Blue Tits and Great Tits can be heard calling in from an Ash Tree. Bumping into Hamish on his morning walk he tells me about a Bee Eater he had seen fly past him earlier in his walk, maybe having got a bit lost on its way to its over winter home.
Keeping my eyes peeled for the brightly coloured bird I continue down the coast path, a Kestrel soars past coming to land in a Sycamore. Its bright orange feet poke out under its hazel brown plumage as its rests on the branch. The Blackthorn covering the slope up to the castle still hangs on to some of its leaves now bright highlighter yellow.
Multiple Ravens patrol the cliff tops this morning, cronking to each other as they pass by. One shoots up from below with something I can’t identify clapped in its beak, it zooms towards the light house and out of sight.
The Guillemot ledge is full this morning the birds having come back for the morning for a well-deserved rest. Not as full as it’s it during the breeding season they have no need to jostle for space.
Up the mile marker slope, a pass a male Stonechat standing proud atop a path of Bramble, calling for all to hear nearby, before I spoke it and it disappears down into the gully. Reaching the top and heading through saxon field I pass a Puffball Mushroom alongside the edge of the path the perfectly round white mushroom stands out against the short green grass.
Nearing the Learning Centre I look up to see a few Swallows soars around above my head, perhaps the last stragglers putting off their long journey to there over winter home. The twinkling calls of Goldfinch fill the air as they adorn the branches of a bare Ash Tree. Chaffinch flit about the branches of a Willow opposite the bird hide, flashes of there white streaks along their sides giving there location away. Arriving back I’m a little disappointed to have not seen the Bee Eater Hamish sore, though keep your eyes peeled if you’re around the park today just in case.