This morning began in thick cloud and rain, as I begun visibility was about 30 yards so limiting wildlife to what I could hear.
Fortunately from the nearby patch of Blackthorn and Bramble the ticking call of a Robin, and the stuttering alarm of a Blackbird, so a good start!
Plodding across the mud and through the puddles, the sound of a group of cackling Jackdaws heard but not seen, so trying my binoculars al that was achieved was water running down my arms and covering the lens.
Along the ridge the wind was blowing strongly, with the raindrops becoming little daggers as they hit the face. Here though, a Roe Deer took off across the downs, its large white powder puff tail flashing as it bounded.
Off to the far north-western side of Durlston, where the Hereford cattle are currently grazing, a few Meadow Pipits took off from the grassy meadows, twittering as they went. As they were quite close by I could just make out the pale legs and streaky bodies.
A small charm of Goldfinches were flitting along the Willow edged footpath, they too sheltering from the rain.
Bursts of bright orange from the small round berries of Stinking Iris the most obvious light spot in the gloom, the tall leaves standing erect alongside.
Meeting the contractors about the new water pipe and fixing a couple of water troughs completed my wet morning.