Starting off to the far north-west corner of Durlston to inspect the recently installed waterpipe work, the sky covered in thick grey clouds, I spotted my first Hawthorn in leaf, the green leaves impressively bright in the dull morning.
As I looked along the hedgerow an Elder was also seen with leaves and the Field Maple was also just starting to open up. Meanwhile the buds of the Blackthorn are also opening, in places producing a wonderful white covering across the spiky bushes.
From the Sycamore came the monotonous, two tone, calling of a Chiffchaff, spotted perched on a bare twig, looking mostly browny-green in colour.
Heading across, the now much drier fields, above me the wonderful sound of Skylarks was wafting, tiny specks against the clouds. However just emerging from amongst the grass, another Skylark, this giving a great chance to admire the beautifully marked bird as it slowly fluttered upwards.
Scattered across the fields are the earliest few Cowslips, just the precursor to the thousands that will be emerging in the next few weeks. Another yellow flower, although a much darker golden hue, is the Dandelion, mostly these were tightly closed, awaiting some sunshine to encourage them to open up.
A patch of white flowers made me peer low to the ground to discover the Hairy Bittercress, while nearby Common Whitlow Grass – although even smaller caught my attention, followed by a lovely array of Hairy Violets.
Returning to the Centre, I was delighted to turn on the screen and be able to watch the Guillemots via the repaired cliff camera. A huge thanks to those involved getting this on the cliff and technical IT support.
As I looked, I just had to do a count the Guillemots as they stood, mostly facing towards the rock, which numbered 258