A fresh morning, with a pleasant westerly breeze and plenty of sunshine. The wonderful sweet smell of Hawthorn fills the air around the meadows, with the first blooms of muscatel-scented Elderflower also starting to appear, with the similar flowers of Wayfaring Tree also to be found in the hedges and scrub.
Many of the meadows are carpeted with Cowslips – as they start to turn, a profusion of new species are producing a dazzling array of colours and forms. Delicate blue Pale Flax and bright yellow Bulbous Buttercups sway gently in the breeze, above a dense understorey of Yellow Rattle, pink Common Vetch, bright pink Sainfoin (looking a little like an orchid).
Some Meadow Buttercup just starting to bloom, along with lots of Early Purple Orchid, Green-winged Orchid, the last of the Early Spider Orchids, replaced by Southern Marsh Orchids. In the shelter of a shady copse, Common Twayblade (a strange green-flowered orchid) is also in bloom. In the Saxon Field, dozens of the tiny grassland Adderstongue Fern can also be found.
On the downs, the short turf is dappled with Chalk and Common Milkwort, yellow and crimson Birdsfoot Trefoil (or Grandmother’s Toenails as it’s traditionally known in Dorset) and Horseshoe Vetch. ‘Dusty’ blue Wild Clary is in bloom, with the magnificent leaves of Woolly Thistle and Burdock here and there.
The early sunshine means a few butterflies are already on the wing, including Speckled Woods, Small Blues in the lee of a hedgerow in the meadows, a Wall, basking on the Coast Path, several Small Heaths and my very first Painted Lady of the year.
Plenty of other insects to be found, with the larval froth or ‘Cuckoo Spit’ of Froghoppers to be found on many plant stems, dozens of the weird black larvae of Bloody-nose Beetles in one short stretch of verge – their iridescent green sheen catching the morning sunshine beautifully.
Skylarks carol their breathless song into the air, with the scratchy song of Whitethroats, repetitive rhythms of Chiffchaffs, plaintive calls of Willow Warblers, sweet notes of Blackcaps and the insistent song of Robins forming just part of a varies chorus.
Diary written by Ali Tuckey