Durlston in the mist.
Water drips from everything
The birds still sing out
A thick mat of mist obscured the rising sun this morning as I set out. Whilst the car park was alive with birdsong, the singers were wisely staying within the shelter of the trees and scrub rather than taking flight. I picked out the strains of Robins, Chaffinches and a Magpie, the latter the only one brave enough to take wing for a brief sortie through the rain before thinking better of it and roosting.
Continuing along the clifftop trail I heard the sea before I saw it, two Greater Black Backed Gulls gliding parallel to the cliffs as I walked. Next I paused to admire the floating raft of around thirty Guillemots and ten Razorbills below, this time seen but not heard.
I sheltered briefly under a tree before continuing on where I accidently startled a woodpigeon from it’s perch. Again, it’s flight was short and it ventured no further than the next Holm Oak.
As I passed the lighthouse I heard the calls of Herring Gulls from behind me. A flock of about a dozen emerged from the mist, flew overhead and disappeared again. There were also a pair of Ravens sitting atop the chimney of the lighthouse, seemingly unperturbed by the weather.
Rounding out my circuit I returned to the Centre past the Quarr and capston, spotting a Wren flitting into the undergrowth.