One Rabbit raced across the short grass when I arrived. Near the Centre Celandines and Speedwells were coming into flower whilst Hawthorn leaves were open. From a Sycamore a Blue Tit called as did a Pheasant and a Cockerel further out.
At the South Field / Saxon Boundary a sprinkling of Blackthorn Blossom was in bloom although most were still tight ball point heads. Less appealing but revealing was that of a fresh lose deposit in the adjacent Badger latrine! A Blackbird pair soon flew off from the path edge in front of me. At the “hay rake” quarry I saw my first basal rosettes of what I suspected will become Early Spider Orchids. Amongst the mossy cushions on this thin soil were dotted subtle Violets. Adjacent a web of Cotoneaster tendrils threatened to encroach! From listening to a Chaffinch call I was drawn to the performance of eight Carrion Crows. The murder undertook some dives and sweeps of each other before tumbling over the boundary from Saxon to the Wares. Primrose or perhaps Cowslip leaves peeped through and around dry cow pats.
Today we had a Song Thrush competition between and Upper Gully and Lighthouse Bridge birds. The lower bird brought in “car alarm” elements and a one point I thought I heard a Tawny Owl call mimic! Skylarks were heard from Centenary / Ox Eye meadows. For some reason both the cooing and “flap, flap glide” undulating flight of a Wood Pigeon soothed me. Meanwhile, the Green Woodpecker was heard but not seen. Beside the bridge there were a pair of Bullfinches as well as competing male Stone Chat calling from opposite ends of the bridge. A Lesser Bloody-nosed Beetle scrambled over the rock outcrop whilst Woodlice and a Rove Beetle were beneath a slab of limestone. Plenty of Fox musk was smelt in various locations.