Well it was raining upon arrival but fortunately for me and the Nature Nursery arrivals it stopped just before 9am! A determined Rabbit had commenced burrowing alongside the nature nursery wall, however, it had stopped perhaps disturbed or realising this was not a good location after all.
A male Great Tit with its bold breast stripe sang from the hedge line between nursery and wildlife garden, perhaps protesting at the empty bird feeders (which I would resolve).
I was delighted to see that apprentice Dan had finally succeeded in installing a new field gate hanging post to South Field. This had been a troublesome hole that had kept filling with water!
At the Small Copse a solo Carrion Crow briefly preened in the branches of an Ash, whilst its bed fellows called from the Large Copse and round about! Over the Downs a flock of three score Jackdaws inevitably fractured into smaller groups with a cluster headed for the Lighthouse zone. A Meadow Pipit flew overhead whilst a couple of Rabbits scuttled off into the scrub.
I was fascinated by the fact that some fresh growth came up through cow pats whilst underneath a former dry pat white yellow growth had persisted in the absence of sunlight. A Pheasant briefly called whilst Blackbirds and Chaffinches were in fine song. I was still appraising the efforts of the cattle and pleased to see many grassy knolls still open within the Upper Gully scrub. I could see the pillow like moss coloured rocks under the scrub edge but also noted that on some of cattle poached knolls Bristly Ox Tongue basal rosettes had crept in. Whilst briefly searching for early orchid development instead I saw fresh leaves and tendrils of Tufted Vetch amongst the sward.
Today’s highlight was that of the jubilant and confident song of a Song Thrush. It was finally tracked down and spotted perched at top a Blackthorn stem protruding a few feet higher than its neighbours. Despite some Ivy cladding, this perch was perfect for this eloquent vocalist broadcasting to the upper gully and beyond.
Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls patrolled the cliff top. Waves crash beneath Tilly Whim sending spray high onto the ledge but from the gully I could not be certain if a plume of spray was the spout or otherwise.
The weather gauge nearly filled two tubes but this was not adequate rainfall to set the winterbourne running today.