A wonderful start to the day, a slither of gold in the sky where the sun was easing its rays through a gap in the clouds, flying across the brightness a squadron of Feral Pigeons, as if on morning exercise, the sound of air tearing as they went.
A Great Tit exercising its vocals as it perched atop a Silver Birch, which has amongst the branches a section of Witches Brooms.
A dangling from the Hazel tree, yellow catkins, flowering in the woods, where the pale lilac coloured Spring Crocus can also be spotted. The raucous squawk of a Jay alerted me to this corvid, a flash of blue and white as it moved between the branches of the Sycamore, while a Magpie did a quick harassing movement to a Carrion Crow before they both settled in amongst the mass of branches of the Macrocarpa.
Onto the cliff to enjoy the views, and the sunshine, here the Guillemots could be heard and smelt before they could be seen, a scattering of 50 or so on the water and at least another 150 on the main ledge. Amongst all of these just 2 were still sporting their winter white faced plumage.
Also on the water 24 Razorbills, for once almost all of them (22) in a group apart from the Guillemots. The Razorbills pairing up again for the season, looking very smart in their black and white feathers.
The cackling of Fulmars alerted me to one squatting in a nook on the rock face, a great opportunity to take a close-up view as a second Fulmar flew up to it.
The recent rain is not helping the paths, with gullies being eroded along them, so a quick maintenance job (with my feet) to fill some dips and enlarge the humps. While doing this the sound of a Rock Pipit displaying made me look up, to see the small grey bird in its characteristic umbrella flight shape.
A tinkling flock of Goldfinches landed on the outer most twigs of a Willow, the sunlight catching the red, white and yellow colours.