The heatwave continues with not a drop of rain recorded at Durlston since 30th June. Clouds of limestone dust get kicked up along the footpaths and smother the bordering vegetation. Some Elm and Sycamore trees are starting to suffer with yellowing crowns. Hydrangeas that should be resplendent with bouquets of flowers, instead droop with thirsty leaves.
Other have evolved for these conditions; such as the usual swathes Rock Samphire along the clifftop. Their thick succulent leaves adapted to withstand the salty sea air and retain moisture on this exposed habitat.
Across the dry yellow grassland, little pockets of purple can be found; Creeping Thistle, Dwarf Thistle, and Greater Knapweed. It’s lovely to see the lilac-coloured Sea Aster in flower too – a reminder for me that we are approaching the end of Summer. I didn’t get as far as the Lighthouse, but make a mental note to go and search for our final orchid of the season – Autumn Ladies Tresses, the next time I’m here.
These little patches of nectar provide a welcome energy source any passing invertebrates. I watch a Humming-bird Hawkmoth with its characteristically erratic but controlled flight. The chequered orange and brown Wall Brown butterfly patrols it’s namesake – a dry stone wall.
Beyond these windy walls, a crop of the seasons harvest. Scarlet Honeysuckle berries, with ripening Blackberries a full spectrum between red and black. The latter of which dyes my fingertips purple as I collect a post-breakfast snack. Sloes now a ripe bright blue but not one to be foraged - harmlessly edible but you won’t make it past the intensely sour flesh that surrounds the stone, and takes all the moisture from your mouth.
On my return to the office I bump into the volunteer bird ringers who have started again to capture the autumn migration. They report a quiet morning, but as usual much more than I had noted: Black cap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Willow Warbler.