After having been off for nine days it was a delight to see the abundance of Orchids in flower especially in Saxon Field. A carpet of Cowslips was joined by one hundred Early Purple Orchids which I counted whilst standing in one spot. A sprinkling of Early Spider Orchids were also to be seen with those in the meadows more vibrant and statuesque than their down land slope brethren, upon stonier ground! Chalk Milkwort (surely should be renamed calcareous) has come into flower with both blue and white varieties. A flowering Bedstraw (with minute crucifix flowers), Horseshoe vetch as well as the bridge side Pear Tree in blossom. Still to flower are the stems of Yellow Wort and the climbing tendrils of Tufted Vetch.
I heard plenty of bird song with Chaffinches, Chiff Chaff, Blackcaps, Blackbird and Robin all in the mix from a range of locations. However, today’s unmistakable song was that of a Grasshopper Warbler coming from the scrubby depths of the upper gully. I heard my first of these birds at Durlston, thanks to Hamish (perhaps even the first record for the site) and will never forget its sound…. rather like an old fashioned wooden football rattle. From the depth of gully scrub the persistent flap of wings (Wood Pigeon) sounded like someone opening and closing an umbrella in an attempt to shake the rain off it!
Upon both Oak and Sycamore I found fresh leaves to be only on the “younger branches” not those necessarily those in the best position to capture the sunlight. With the oak, fresh leaves only sprung open on the far reaching outer branches. Otherwise the tree was only dressed in moss, lichen and both old and new Cherry Galls. At the goat plot entrance I was drawn to a three foot high dead Elder stem which confused me as it was surrounded by fresh leaves. So this bark-less, beetle hole riddled stem was in fact surrounded by leaves from fresh branches which had developed from below. Earlier I had found on the wares slopes a sizeable piece of deadwood with tough Jelly Ear fungus upon it. Quits possibly this was another piece of the old Elder stem.
Bracken fronds were seen to be unravelling slowly at the scrub / down land interface. Both a Shag and Swallow were briefly seen. From faeces it would seem that a fox has mostly been eating Rabbits.