This mornings mist is the thickest I have experienced during my time here at Durlston. On the road coming Into the park I could see the lights of an oncoming vehicle but couldn’t make any more of it out until it was about 30 metres from me! The rain is fine but persistent, embedding itself deep into the layers of your clothes. As I pulled into the car park a Raven was sat on the ticket machine, looking bedraggled and scruffy, the rain obviously affecting his morning too! A Green Woodpecker dropped from the top of a tree and swept into the dense foliage aside of the car park.
This blanket of mist is so muggy, the warmth of the morning still permeating through the drizzle, making the layers of clothing I am wearing feel most redundant! Taking a walk down the Diagonal Path I can hear the calls of Chiffchaff, a very vocal Lesser Whitethroat in some Blackthorn and the ever busy Blackbird (you know it’s a tricky morning on the patrol when a Blackbird is listed!) Along the side of the rides the thick new growth of Old Mans Beard is creeping its way over the Common Gorse and Hawthorn. Further below are the purple and yellow flowers of Bitter Sweet, a member of the Nightshade family. The colour low down is actually rather vibrant, with the crimson flowers of Common Centaury, the purple matted growth of Wild Thyme and the proud, tall pinks and whites of Valerium. Fat cushions of Elderflower sit drenched in drizzle, their thick musky scents crushed by this morning’s dampness! The singular flowers of Garden Vetch can be seen over-stretching themselves, such a fantastic plant, with so much effort for that one crimson flower.
A soggy Jackdaw swoops by, looking forlorn and miserable. No one to play with today, all his mates must be embedded into the cliff side keeping themselves somewhat dry. The Guillemots are still very active, coming in and out of the ledge, bringing in food. Then I see something swoop by near the top of the cliffs and tracing its flight arc I can now see it was a Razorbill, joining 2 others only about 10 metres from the cliff top. That’s the highest I have ever seen any of our Auks!