Luckily I had some foresight because this morning, upon getting out of my car here on the Park, the cold snap was really biting at my knees. Why did I think shorts were a good idea in October? Digging through my locker I unearthed some trousers that I had scurried away a while ago and how thankful I was for them. It was 7 degrees when I arrived and there wasn’t a cloud in sight, beautiful blue skies rolling across the landscape and the low sun made it hard to look up, casting long streaks of golden glare across the sea whilst refracting in my sunglasses. Flocks of birds passed over but positioning myself away from the sun in time to ID them was proving tricky. There were some small charms of Goldfinch as well as larger flocks heading across the Downs of Linnet and Meadow Pipit. A gang of Jackdaw cruised toward the cliffs from South Field.
On entering Tasker’s Meadow I notice something on the hay bales, only slight, but it was a fantastic sight. Two Red Admiral, beautiful colours, deep and rich, basking in the sun, their wings flat to the hay. As I wander this morning I am seeing a lot of Red Admirals, either in flight or resting on Ivy or brambles. Darting across the fields, from bush to bush, were Blue Tits, Blackcaps and Chaffinch, and stalking through the higher branches of Scots Pine in the Large Copse were Chiffchaff, their little tails flicking as they pick their way through. Crane Flies flop and bundle in the long dew covered grass, a tempting breakfast for migratory birds feeding up before they fly to mainland Europe. Swallows sweep, inches from the ground, trailing their forked tail, a class example of beauty and grace.
This morning the bird ringers are here on mass with Grylo taking charge. Nothing special through the nets today, the Wryneck still eluding them. Blackcaps, Chiffchaff and Meadow Pipits were in abundance. They are due to set a new record this year, standing previously at 3500 birds ringed, and with 6 weeks still to go this season, they will surpass that figure this weekend. Be sure to be here next Saturday for their bird ringing event for the public where you can see birds in the hand and learn about the important work they do here in Dorset.