A hard frost last night, with ferns and traceries of ice across the windscreens of the cars down in the town – the coldest morning of the year so far.
Out on the Park, some glorious low winter sunshine quickly burns away the last traces of frost and turns the meadows into a dazzling sea of gold.
Barely a breath of wind, so sound carries well, with the ‘chuckle’ of a Green Woodpecker heard as he bobs across the Lighthouse Field. In South Field the cows have their heads down and a munching steadily away, except for 2, who are the wrong side of an open gate! With help from a couple of regular dog-walkers (and Ruby the dog!), we were able to post them back through, before they could get far. Do keep an eye out for grazing signs and let us know if the cows seem to be in the wrong place or gates are left open – can save an awful lot of running around for us and the cattle!
Speaking of cows – our new exhibition ‘The Milking Parlour’ opens today, in which artists Nessie Read explores why milk is cheaper than bottled water – well worth having a look.
The piercing calls of Goldcrests ring out from a Black Pine in the Car Parks.
In the Lighthouse Field a Kestrel keens overhead, with a Sparrowhawk swerving around the edge of the Copse and a Buzzard wheeling above Durlston Bay. A Tawny Owl hoots from the depths of the Castle woodland as a pair of Ravens croak softly to each other from the top of one of the Mile Markers.
In the sheltered Gully, Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robins, Linnets, Goldfinches and Blackcaps are hunting for breakfast, with a Stonechat, seeming to bask in the sunshine from the top of a flowering Gorse bush.
A quiet morning at sea, with Gannet and Oystercatcher the only passing seabirds of note, though a steely sea and curls of rain out on the horizon suggest the day may not continue so bright and sunny!