Today the winter chill has started to blow through. My ears were burning with the Northerly wind that was zipping through the park and I was glad I had the foresight to put out my winter jacket before I went to bed last night. Thankfully my shorts are now packed away in a drawer at home, eagerly awaiting next spring! I am not getting cold knees again like I did the other morning! Walking behind the Learning Centre, heading towards Large Copse, I stop to look at all the habitat management that has been going on. It’s been a hive of activity recently with various volunteer groups coming in and assisting the Rangers as well as our apprentices. It’s really nice to see the work finished, ready for the cows to come in and graze the area, making this part of Durlston a bit more visitor friendly for next year.
In Boys Brigade, the hedges are fat with berries. Hawthorn, Byrony, Sloe, Blackberries and Rosehip, all awaiting to be nibbled on by our winter birds, who will then go off around the park, depositing the seeds in various locations for the next generation of these plants to take root and grow. The Autumnal browns are abundant now at Durlston. The Bracken has browned off, looking crisp and tanned, opening up areas that have been off bounds to all but the intrepid adventurer for the summer months. The Wooly Thistle is folded up double, the weight of its heads now too much for the stems to support. The Wild Carrot, a mere shadow of its former self, standing dry, like a charcoal drawing of itself. Though there is some colour still to be found; some Ragwort stands defiant after managing to avoid our autumn cull of this plant prior to the arrival of the tractor for baling up. Fleabane, though mostly gone over, still has some strong yellow flowers showing. Field Scabious adds a lighter shade of purple to the greens and browns and Knapweed is still in large clumps with its deep purple heads.
There were a few birds detected by myself. Blackcap, Meadow Pipit, Bullfinch, Jay, Raven and Green Woodpecker. I also had a really close encounter with a super cute Wren, just sat on the end of some Bramble, totally not freaked out by my standing there. Last year I managed to free a Wren from the Belvedere and I still hold this rather romantic notion that it’s out there and knows who I am. So whenever I have a close encounter like that, I like to think it’s the one I saved! Hamish popped in to the office as I am writing this and basically trumped me with his list of birds. A Mediterranean Gull out in the bay, a Yellow-Browed Warbler, Brambling, Redpoll, Siskin, 2 Ring Ouzel, Sparrowhawk, Chiffchaff, Firecrest, Goldcrest and a Merlin. They were obviously waiting for him before they showed themselves as they didn’t seem to be there when I went for a walk!