The swollen Wolf Moon sinks towards the northern ridgeline, and the verges are rimed in frost as I arrive for my first patrol of the New Year. The sky is a delicate watercolour wash to the south and east, though sullen clouds squat on the horizon.
Goldfinch chime overhead and Wood Pigeons burble in the Reservoir Copse as I head out, while a Carrion Crow marches stiff-legged across the frozen tarmac, a timely reminder to tread carefully this morning!
Heading to join the Lighthouse track, Dunnock wheeze in the Blackthorn scrub, while Blue Tits flit from cover to cover. The snowy dusting of Old Man’s Beard running through the Hawthorn is stiff with the cold, the feathery seeds lacking their usual shiver from Durlston’s perpetual coastal breezes.
Descending towards the Horseshoe Bridge, a pale flash reveals a Song Thrush perched atop a bare Ash tree, the speckle-breasted bird then moving to glut upon the bounty of Hawberries available. Elsewhere the Gully is alive with the furtive activity of Wren and Great Tit amidst the tangle. A pair of Blackbirds make low sweeping dives down the meltwater-cut fissure, forever mindful of potential predators.
Without ceremony, I’m joined by a clattering of nine Jackdaw, who perch in the bare-branched Sycamore, grooming their pinions in what meagre warmth the rising sun can offer.
Joining the South West Coast Path, a Feral Rock Pigeon and Jackdaw forage companionably in the sward, while a Cormorant beats a rapid path east towards the Castle at sea level.
Ascending from the Gully bottom, four Meadow Pipits wheel and flit away, contact-calling as they settle beneath the Lighthouse.
Emerging back onto the Clifftop Trail, the stands of yellowed-off Tamarisk are stirred by the faintest zephyr, while the frost-tipped Gorse flowers are washed out to a paler pastel version of their usual hearty yellow.
Entering the Holm Oak woodland, life is everywhere, from the murmur of resilient Parkrunners preparing for a brisk Saturday gallop, to the flitting Blue Tits, Chaffinch, and Blackbird foraging beneath the evergreen for their breakfast.