A glorious morning, feeling much more autumnal, with a definite nip in the air, despite blue skies and sunshine.
Joined for the morning rounds this morning by a group of Nordic Walkers and instructors, who are holding their annual conference in Purbeck and what better morning for a stroll!
Around the Park, fruits, seeds and berries gleam in the sunshine. On Bramble bushes, blackberries are starting to ripen, alongside the translucent red berries of Honeysuckle, heavy strands of Bryony berries, like strings of beads, with the tiny red, orange and green tomato-like berries of Bittersweet nestled among the tangle of Old Man’s Beard.
On Blackthorn, Sloes are starting to ripen, turning a deep dusty blue, while at the base of the hedgerows, bright orange Stinking Iris seeds are starting to burst out of their pods, while Ash trees in the Copse are covered in heavy bunches of ‘keys’.
Overhead, Swallows skim along the coast, mostly west-east this morning with lots of Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches also passing overhead.
On the wall at Tilly Whim a female Wheatear perches – her smart plumage and roguish ‘eye-mask’ looking fantastic in the morning sunshine.
Great views of a Kestrel above the Lighthouse Field – the reddish morning sun highlighting his ruddy brown plumage as he hangs in the air, as the ‘chuckle’ of a Green Woodpecker echoes across the Gully.
Below her, a noisy gang of Jackdaws circle, with Shag, Cormorant and an Oystercatcher passing by.
A nice patch of Common Toadflax in the Lighthouse Field – the wild version of Snapdragons, with Wild Carrot, Wild Parnsip, Bristly Ox-tongue also in bloom.