The sea a deep blue, with barely a ripple, as I looked across towards Peveril Point and Bournemouth, just the odd wake of a boat disturbing the stillness. But flapping just above the water the large black shape of a Shag spotted, with higher still the white body and grey wings of an adult Herring Gull.
The purple flowers of Stemless Thistles showing above the dusty ground, while the taller paler flowers of both Spear Thistle and Creeping Thistle were attracting small shiny flies.
On the bright yellow flower of Bristly Ox-tongue a solitary bee, that was carrying a large yellow pollen store.
Some of the butterflies are having a bumper year, with Gatekeepers galore, erupting from the Blackthorn and Privet hedgerow as I walked by, a flutter of two-tone brown.
Lots of Meadow Browns also flitting around, while the brightly coloured orange and white and black of Painted Ladies was adorning the dull pink flowers of Hemp Agrimony.
A Wall Brown, was unusually basking on the grass, (not a wall), the lovely tan and black markings very distinctive. A flash of sun yellow from on top of the pale green Rock Samphire and a Clouded Yellow seen, one of many that have migrated north this summer. Red Admiral, Small White and Lulworth Skipper completed the butterfly list.
An Emperor Dragonfly whizzed past, the spectacular blue body hovering for a few moments in front of me. An even better view of a Red-Veined Darter, all red, from head to tail, admired as it sat on an Ivy leaf, this another migrant insect arriving from the continent.
With all this concentrating on the ground, I also found a gorgeous Grey Bush-cricket, identification through the long antenna, stocky grey body and wings. Seen later a Dark Bush-cricket on a large Burdock leaf and a Great Green Bush-cricket, amongst the rambling stems and flowers of Old Man’s Beard plus on the tall stem of Wild Parsnip a Roesel’s Bush-cricket.
A few other flowers to look out for including the pink and white Restharrow, the bright pink Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea and still a few Centaury spikes to be spotted topped with the pink five petalled flower.