Pulling into the car park as I arrived was one of my now regulars, a juvenile Magpie. I greeted it good day as I set off down to the Castle. Through the woodland a Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis posed obligingly for a photo. They may be invasive pests outcompeting our native Red Squirrel but they are still cute and fluffy!
Moving down the clifftop trail I came across a handsome Herring Gull checking out what I was up to. A Fulmar then glided past, as if to display its prowess at using the cliffside air currents.
Turning my attention back to the pathway, I was able to tick off at least eight species of Butterfly, including the much revered Lulworth Skipper. A Solitary Bee was also spotted, as were Red-tailed, Garden and Common Carder Bumblebees.
I enjoyed the stroll in the sunshine along the clifftop, being eyed suspiciously by the local Clattering of Jackdaws (this is an old collective name for a flock of Jackdaws from at least the 1800s) whilst a long Shag skimmed the wavetops towards Swanage
.
The next wildlife I met was a Rock Pippit, who seemed intent on following me along the trail cheeping its little song. Further up the downland some Bunny Rabbits were grazing amongst the Gorse.
Crossing the gully bridge I was aware of a commotion going on in the Honeysuckle, but the foliage was to dense to see what was happening! One thing I did spot on the edge of the path was an explosion of feathers, likely signifying the demise of a Pigeon at the talons of a Peregrine.
The walk back up the Lighthouse Road yielded several interesting sights to me, one being Red Bartsia, another being a Honeybee mimicking Hoverfly and finally an unidentified Beetle of the Chrysolina Genus.
The last point to note was a report from Hamish of nine species of Warbler this morning, the Grasshopper Warbler being one.
Today's diary written by Mike