You can’t miss the sound of the warbling Blackcaps upon arrival at Durlston. Their loud chirps and whistles echoing one another in every direction. Wrens also sing loudly, their calls booming out from within the scrub.
It’s lovely to feel the Sun’s warmth on my face. It rises through the haze and into the blue sky, alighting the trees and fur of the Squirrels which hop along the branches. Most beautiful, are the blue and yellowish-green feathers of the Great Tits and Blue Tits in the light. These birds often flock near to the Castle, the latter being a little smaller and lacking the black hat.
I head into the woodland where many plants ‘spring’ into life. Nettles, Willowherb, and Wild Arum shoot up from the ground, alongside fresh spikes of Horsetail, Dandelion and Wood Dock. You’ll find fresh leaves on the Elder and Dogwood, and large sticky buds swelling upon the drooping Horse Chestnut branches.
Firecrests are heard, and I enjoy an encounter with a Chaffinch – close enough to appreciate it’s chestnut-brown feathers in the sunlight. There’s a buzz around the warmed dry stone walls; Flies, Hoverflies, and just for a second, a glimpse of a Red Admiral butterfly.
There’s a transition in the ground flora as you descend towards Sunnydale and start to find Celandines and Herb Robert underfoot. Great swathes of Three-cornered Leek and Wild Garlic carpet the ground. In the spindly Sycamore copse, the Rooks call out from their nests - great masses of sticks piles in the treetops and black silhouettes moving against the sky.
Some 200 tree saplings have appeared through the woodland with an aim to improve the biodiversity of this habitat with native species; Elder, Hawthorn, Hazel, Dogrose, Crab-apple and Blackthorn. We have also had some tree safety work carried out to fell and crown-lift dying Sycamore, Ash, and Elm.