Rain comes down in sheets and wets the ground
It quenches natures thirst for miles around
The clockwork spring of growth is gently wound
By rain our living landscape will be crowned
Robins, Blue Tits and Chaffinches were all to be seen and heard as I entered the park vial Long Meadow. The steady downpour kept them mostly stationary in the trees, and I found myself passing closer by them than they would normally allow. Wood Pigeons perched motionless on the branches of a Sycamore, and in the centre of the field, two Magpies pecked at the ground. Perhaps they don’t mind the rain.
In light of the weather I decided to take my morning patrol under the cover of the woodlands. Water was dripping from the tips of Harts-tongue ferns, and pretty much everything else for that matter. A Blackbird was singing from the treetops, and the forest floor was specked with yellow Daffodil and Lesser Celandine. The Spring Crocus has finished flowering now.
Travelling back up Isle of Wight Rd a flash of orange caught my eye. Beside the path a log was supporting a colourful patch of Hairy Stereum fungus. Looking out to sea from one of the viewpoints, I watched the rough swell beat against the shore for a few moments. A Common Gull flew past, its dirty grey plumage matching the drab weather.
At the bird feeder beside the castle I spotted a Dunnock and a Goldcrest tucking into their breakfast. Further down the clifftop trail a pair of Fulmars skimmed over the waves before pulling up and skirting the rock faces. On the water a raft of around 50 Guillemots and 20 Razorbills bobbed, though strangely none were to be seen on the ledge.
The ledge above Tilly Whim was also vacant today. The Adders apparently not disposed to wet weather.