A chilly start to the day, though a glorious red sunrise almost made me want to warm my hands by it!
I drove to work this morning and was treated to my first sighting of the day as I got out of the car, with a flock of 5 Goldcrests weaving through the canopy of a Black Pine in the Car Parks. These alert little birds have a gormless expression when seen close to, which, combined with their gold ‘mohican’ gives them a rather comical appearance
A Firecrest (with a bold orange-red stripe) also seen among the canopy above Caravan Terrace, where a family of Long-tailed Tits squabble noisily as they hunt for breakfast.
In the woodland, strings of glossy red Bryony berries adorn the woodland edge like strings of beads, while star-like clusters of Stinking Iris seeds catch the eye on the woodland floor.
Near the Aviary Glade, a Treecreeper scuttles up the trunk of Sycamore, as a Song Thrush pokes around in the soft turf of the glade below.
Out in the meadows, a Green Woodpecker bobs by, as if on elastic, with a flock of 6 Redwing passing overhead.
Badgers have been digging up the path through the Copse, in search of tasty invertebrates or roots, with a Roe Deer quietly grazing an open glade on the slopes of the Gully
Above the Copse, a pair of Ravens circle, calling harshly to each other, while a pair of Grey Squirrels chase among the branches below.
A grey sea laps steadily against the cliffs, with the sea and sky blurring together into a misty horizon.
A Gannet flaps by in the distance, it’s plumage a striking white on a drab morning, with Shag, Great Black-backed Gull and some distant Kittiwakes the only seabirds noted.
On the clifftop, a Peregrine keeps watch from a high ledge on Durlston Head, with a Rock Pipit skittering along the clifftop turf.