Another frosty morning, with puddles in the meadows glazed with ice and frosty grass sparkling in the early morning sunshine.
A Fox scampers along Tasker’s Path ahead of me, disappearing into the bushes with a flick of his tail, while Badgers have been snuffling though the woodchips in the Copse in search of food.
Jays squabble among the Holm Oaks in the Large Copse, occasionally emerging from the trees with a flash of blue wing feathers.
Tiny (but rather pugnacious looking!) Goldcrests weave among the branches of a Black Pine – where they pass through patches of sunshine, the greenish feathers on their back becoming the distinguishing feature rather than the bright yellow ‘Mohican’ which gives them their name.
A Green Woodpecker bobs along through the meadow nearby, with a Kestrel hanging in the frosty air, as if painted on.
Down on the Clifftop Trail, Fulmars skim smoothly along the clifftop prospecting for nest sites, as noisy flocks of Jackdaws circle and squabble.
Down below, Guillemots whir out from the ledges in a flickering tide, with Shag, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull also passing by.
A party of Long-tailed Tits bustle around in the hedgerow at the top of Long Meadow, rotating through 180 degrees as they feed, keeping in touch with a succession of high-pitched squeaks
Also feeding this morning, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches, with a Dunnock, shuffling mouse-like along the base of a hedge, weaving in and out of the tall green leaves and orange seedpods of Stinking Iris.
Lot of Woodpigeons moving through overhead as I write.