A perfect autumn dawn rises on my commute in, the mists of Poole Harbour and the Rivers Piddle and Frome backlit in a golden glow.
The Country Park is unusually still on arrival, and huge flocks of Wood Pigeon take advantage of the calm conditions to cut across the blue sky, the soft roar of hundreds of bird’s wings actually audible from the ground. Smaller flocks of Starling intersect their trajectories, outnumbered for once despite their famously dense murmurations.
Unnaturally loud Chiffchaff calls draw me to the Learning Centre pond area, where our BTO ringers are playing their recordings to lure in birds for study.
A busy morning has seen the volunteers record fifteen individual Goldcrest, as well as Firecrest, Blackcaps, Wren and even two extremely tardy Swallows!
Drifting towards the Lighthouse, the liquid song of Robin and Song Thrush float from the Hawthorn scrub, in stark contrast with the grating and coarse croak of the Rooks.
The more understated calls of Siskin, Linnet and Dunnock also emerge throughout my walk.
The yellow flowers of Gorse have emerged along the Herston Trail, the air regrettably too fresh to encourage the release of their distinctive coconut scent.
After a wet night, the trail is sodden underfoot. Roundback Slugs take advantage of the damp conditions to graze on the grasses, while I scan the muddiest sections for the ‘slots’ of Roe Deer.
Emerging through the kissing gate above the Gully, I watch a russet-backed Kestrel skim the lip of the post-glacial carving, before alighting atop the observation point above the Lighthouse.
This high ground is often favoured by our resident Carrion Crows, and sure enough a single corvid lands nearby, the two birds maintaining a wary distance.
High above me, the mellifluous burble of a Skylark can’t fail to lift the spirits, this little bird seemingly exultant at the promise of a fine day.