Oh what a beautiful morning! The first time for a few weeks I have needed to go out for the early rounds in fleece, wellies and waterproofs, with a strong westerly wind blasting rain across the Park. In between the showers, some patches of surprisingly bright blue sky, with beams of sunshine lancing down onto a steely sea.
A rather murky morning brightened by a variety of later summer flowers still in bloom, from deep purple Knapweed, to golden Ragwort, pure white Yarrow and Wild Carrot, yellow-green Wild Parsnip, dusty pink Hemp Agrimony, along with Bristly Ox-tongue, Old Man’s Beard and tiny candy striped Restharrow on the shorter turf.
Even more eye-catching though are the range of fruits, seeds and berries in the hedgerows. Clusters of tiny green, red and orange ‘tomatoes’ are the poisonous fruits of Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade, with heavy ropes of Bryony berries, like strings of beads.
Dusty blue-black Sloes grow alongside the beautiful translucent red berries of Honeysuckle, the crimson berries of Sloes, with stands of prickly-headed Teasels in front of many hedges. At their foot, the star-shaped seed-pods of Stinking Iris are starting to burst open to reveal their bright orange seeds.
Along the top of the Lighthouse Field, jangling flocks of Goldfinches swirl along the rough grassland, with Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs calling from the scrub as a Green Woodpecker bobs by. A Kestrel hangs in the air above the Lighthouse, with a Peregrine Falcon jetting past Tilly Whim.
Not much movement overhead, with just a few Meadow Pipits and Swallows the only signs of autumn migration, however at sea, a dozen Gannets pass by – their plumage a brilliant white against the grey sea, along with Shag, Cormorant, Oystercatcher and Razorbill.