What a quite glorious morning for a walk at Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve. As the shone rose above the horizon it was basking the fields and cliffs in a magnificent orange and pink glow.
The call of a Green Woodpecker from the meadows caused me to start off in that direction, this super green and yellow bird spotted perched on the top of a Meadow Ant hill, one of the ones that had been trodden on and turned over by the Hereford Cattle last week.
In the hedgerow a couple of Redwings were spotted alongside a Song Thrush, so for once the differences in shape, colour and marking very easy to spot, as the Redwing moved the flash of red under its wing became the diagnostic feature!
On the ground the tell-tale signs of recent mammal activity with the double slot hoof prints of Roe Deer and the large mostly black piles of Badger poo in their latrines, the ‘snuffle’ runs caused as the Badgers search for food amongst the soft soil also easily found this morning.
Amongst the bushes a sudden crashing and 2 Grey Squirrels came hurtling down the trunks of the Field Maple and the Sycamore, something causing a disturbance!
In the Holm Oak woodland near the Castle a flock of Goldcrests were accompanied in their travels through the leaves by a Firecrest, while another of these miniature birds was spotted in the Tamarisk flitting along the branches and teasing out food from amongst the furry green fronds.
Looking out to sea a quick scan produced the sight of 2 Scoter, these small black duck like birds flying low across the water as were 2 Divers, the species of which I was unable to identify – although yesterday Great Northern Divers were spotted offshore.
To the gully and lighthouse field and a flock of Goldfinches flying across, a tinkling sound as they went, until they landed in the Blackthorn scrub on the steep banks.
The seeping squeak of a Bullfinch caught my ear and I was able to find in against the blue sky and watch it as it landed on the upper most branches of the Wild Pear tree, the sun catching its pink breast as it perched – magnificent.