The sunshine was squeezing through the clouds just above the horizon, backlighting the brilliant white Gannets which were soaring above Durlston Bay. These magnificent seabirds having travelled up the Channel to feed on the fish in this area, suddenly their wings drew back and one then two plunged headfirst directly into the sea - one of the great sights!
As I walked around the headland a Green Woodpecker took flight, its noisy ‘yaffle’ drawing attention to this well camouflaged bird. In the Tamarisk, amongst the soft green fronds a flock of the tiny Goldcrests could first be heard then seen, the flashes of gold very difficult to spot as they moved through the bushes flitting from branch to branch.
The cold north-west wind making the birds difficult to see as they hide from the breeze deep in the scrub, every now and then call brought them to me attention, with an alarm call of a Blackbird making me look down into the Blackthorn laden gully where a Redwing was just landing in the tops of a bare Sycamore and a Chiffchaff was perched on one of the branches.
Above the gully a Kestrel, this male with chestnut coloured back and grey head, a wonderful sight as it hovered, the sun reflecting on its body. Form my vantage point I was able to watch the minute movements this bird was making to keep its head perfectly still in the strong winds – just amazing.
In the woods the fallen leaves rustling underfoot, even though these are not the best woods in the world for autumn colours, the leaves are a gorgeous range of yellow, browns oranges and greens. As I crunched along the path, a Grey Squirrel scampered up the trunk of a Black Pine, while another ran along the branch of a nearby Horse Chestnut. From the landslip a slight movement caught my eye and a Buzzard took flight from amongst the trees, eventually soaring out across the Bay.