What a difference a day makes… while March 1st may mark the beginning of meteorological spring, yesterday’s idyllic weather has been replaced by thick, low cloud cloaking the Country Park.
The dreary weather does nothing to dampen the spirits of the Song Thrush, who has seemingly reappeared as herald of the shifting conditions.
A single immaculate Roe Deer slot amidst the chaos of the sodden path, and a male Blackbird sitting sentinel atop the Hawthorn as I reach the Lighthouse track. In the damp hedgerow, a stark contrast between the fresh, plump berries of the Atlantic Ivy, and the shrivelled remains of last Autumn’s Sloes clinging to the Blackthorn.
Deferring to the wisdom of the wild, I allow myself to be driven east and under the relative cover of the Holm Oak woodland by the wind and drizzle.
The decidedly damp, relatively warm weather of February has triggered an explosion of fungi across the Country Park, with Turkey Tail, Witch’s Butter and even Slime Moulds emerging from the oak limbs scattered about the woodland floor, while Stinking Iris and Polypody and Hart’s-Tongue Ferns form a verdant carpet elsewhere.
The frenetic rattle of territorial Blue Tits and high trills of Firecrest can be heard in the canopy above, while the meandering burble of Wood Pigeon drifts through the roiling mist.
Sauntering toward the Castle, I flush a Grey Squirrel, which scuttles for the reassuring refuge of a tree.
Pausing at the Castle entrance, the undergrowth is busy with the rattle and bell-like peals of Great Tits, and the high fluting of Goldfinch in the treetops.
Former Durlston Senior Ranger Hamish reports a pair of Kittiwake offshore, and an trundling Oil Beetle after we crossed paths yesterday.
The Black Pine appears to still be frozen in its precipitous dangle over the Dell, this sheltered sun trap not yet heavy with butterflies, but already lush with regenerating Buddleia and Flowering Cherry.
Heading north through the Pleasure Grounds, an area previously cleared through tree safety works hosts a profusion of Nettles, Cleavers and Lords and Ladies taking advantage of the increased light levels. A pair of Robin flit onto the Bramble in front of me, perhaps speculating whether I’m likely to drop any morsels for them.
Taking a moment to ‘Rest And Admire’ at the viewpoint, Peveril Point is framed in whitewash, while Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks are wreathed in fog, and distant Poole Bay wiped from the map utterly.
However, as I trudge back toward the Learning Centre, a brightening in the clouds teases an improvement in conditions later.