A Shag is floating on the water, readying to dive
Though it’s cold and wet
There’s fish to get
If it wants to stay alive
I headed straight to Saxon Field this morning. The cold blustery wind providing a great incentive to get a move on. Large patches of Lesser Celandine are appearing now rather than just a few isolated flowers. Green Woodpeckers were calling all around me, but the birds themselves insisted on staying out of sight.
Inside Small Copse there was very little activity, the Black Pines swaying in the wind not seeming to host any wildlife. The distant call of a Herring Gull was all I could make out. Upon emerging into Saxon Field I was pleased to see some of the smaller Blackthorn saplings showing white blossom. The adults will soon follow suit.
Great Tits were singing their usual chorus, and the loud rattle of a Magpie took me by surprise as I continued on. Also to be heard were several Skylarks, hidden inside patches of scrub. Perhaps the strong wind was putting them off displaying. I soon discovered this was not the case as just around the corner I came across another Skylark in the midst of its display. I find each performance just as captivating as the first I ever saw.
Circling round past the top of the gulley I spent a few minutes investigating an unfamiliar song, only to discover that I was tracking a Blue Tit, performing one of its many variations. Fooled again.
By the lighthouse, a Dunnock chirruped inside a briar patch, and several Rock pipits dived off the edge of the cliff at my approach. Out to sea a Shag was floating on the waves, duck diving under the surface for minutes at a time in search of food. Greater Black Backed Gulls patrolled the cliff edge as I made my way over to Tilly Whim.
The Guillemots were back in their usual linear formation today, around 30 on the water and perhaps 40 or more on the ledge. Just after I looked up from my count, A Peregrine Falcon shot up into view, rising above the edge of the cliff wings spread, displaying its chest. Then it dived back down, whirled around and glided west, passing very close by me. A fantastic end to my morning rounds.