Last night’s beautiful sky with its stunning red full moon has given way to a distinctly grey morning with strong winds and plenty of rain. Looking around I spotted two sail boats braving the waves off the coast and also noticed how dramatic the shapes of some of the Hawthorn and Blackthorn are, obviously molded by the same wind that is blowing a hoolie at the moment!
Two young Jackdaws sit on lighthouse road seeming at loose ends before taking flight. The rain hits my face as I look up to follow them. Looking down I see the remnants of a pellet full of feather quills and several yellow and black banded White-lipped and Brown-lipped Snails clinging to turned Knapweed, one was half the size of my little finger nail.
I spot a single Grasshopper for a split second and think about how abundant they are when the sun is shining. They can sometimes be distracting on the butterfly transect when you’re on high alert to spot any movement. Two Crows shelter within a small Holm Oak and I hear the distinct call of a Stonechat in the distance.
The rain drops have settled on a spider web wrapped around some small Wild Carrots, drawing them together. The rest of the grassland is rather dominated by Ragwort. Our volunteers have been busy removing it over the last couple of weeks as it is poisonous to livestock but there are still fields left to cover!
As I walk enter the wood, I admire the sunset-coloured Montebresia and the smell of woodchip takes my mind back to childhood playgrounds. Two Blackbirds, a male and a female, seem to feel the same way as they hop excitedly back and forth on a large, felled tree and make the most of the rain by taking a quick shower.
On my approach back to the centre I notice that our model dolphin looks very much at home in the rain. At least one of us is!