A still, rather grey start to the day, though with temperatures several degrees warmer than the last week, feeling very spring-like.
Among the drab grasses and bracken on Caravan Terrace, my eye jumps straight to the brilliant crimson berries of Cotoneaster, while nearby, the first of the Primroses are coming into bloom, with lots of patches of bright blue Spring Crocus around the Car Parks.
On the slopes of Durlston Bay, a tall Sycamore is covered with lovely crimson and gold Goldfinches, covering the branches like fruit. A Sparrowhawk skims by, hugging the scrub below the path. Above the Terrace, Goldcrests weave through the canopy, with a brilliant, red-breasted Bullfinch among the scrub.
Below the cliffs, Guillemots straggle across the water, with a couple still in their dappled winter plumage, as Fulmars wheel, stiff-winged in dizzying arcs above them. Several Shags flap by, one carrying a beakful of twigs and sea-weed. Also on the wing Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Peregrine Falcon.
Great Tits squeak rhythmically, while a Dunnock reels out his syncopated song from a Hawthorn.
Along the Diagonal Path, glossy green Madder leaves tangle around the base of flowering Gorse, while the strong musk of a Fox almost takes my breath away. On the woodchip path, a lovely patch of bright yellow Honey Fungus is growing out of one of the logs, with Many-zoned Polypore and Dead Man’s Fingers also to be found.
Bay, Sallow and Hazel are all in flower as spring approaches.