Today's weather: Misty & chilly start
Last night one cattle escaped onto Lighthouse Road. Fortunately, Emily & Ben (Seventh Wave) found it and together we return it Smithfield, although over the wall rather than through the gate we had opened! The low wall gap has since been raised with logs!
A family of eight Long Tailed Tits moved noisily through scrub beside the car park. Initially I saw a score of Jackdaws off the observation point only to turn and discover thirty more sat in the Tamarisk. The later still had some flowers as did some White Valerian, Ragwort and Yellow Ox Tongue!
Despite the mist I saw both exposed ledges off Peveril Point and later the Lighthouse was visible from the observation Point. Indeed the mists impact was greatest inland! At the observation point a Carrion Crow picked at a meal which turned out to be a Fox’s faeces! Off shore, rather unusually, a Little Egret headed west! More interestingly were the group of 12 black and white diving birds on the water. I quickly sketched them for reference and through further investigation identified them as Guillemots in winter plumage! Up to a score of Herring Gulls and two Shags and quad of Greater Black Backed Gulls were seen off the cliffs. Most headed east although a Raven did a sweep west then east. I headed up slop past the mile markers catching sight of a Roe Deer doe under the telegraph wires. Meanwhile, a Jay rest after harvesting and stashing Holm Oak acorns in the grassland. Harry reported having disturbed a Pheasant!
Plenty of Great Tits, Blues Tits and my second Long Tailed Tit family were active near the Centre. Bird Ringer Mick showed me a Chiff Chaff and reported Field Fare, Linnets Greenfinch and Goldfinch having been observed. I opened the Learning Centre for a group of Reading University Meteorologists whom will be on site over the weekend. As I wrote they filled a weather balloon then set it with recording equipment on a mission into the mist!
Today's diary written by Paul