Last night’s (and this year’s) final Durlston Sea Bird boat trip was a great finale, with adult and juvenile Peregrines, 9 Puffins and a spectacular aerial display by squadrons of Swifts.
Although there are no more boat trips, along the cliffs this morning, Guillemots are crowded onto the ledges, with more Guillemots and a string of Razorbills on the water below.
Fulmars glide smoothly above them, as if on rails, with Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Shag also around.
The distinctive call of an Oystercatcher was heard before 3 were seen. Gannets, including some speckled juveniles passing by, brought close to shore by the wind, with a Winchat seen in the clifftop scrub. Do pop up in the next week to see the seabirds, as the cliffs will soon be very quiet as they return to sea.
Along the clifftop turf, the curious ‘dusty’ yellow Ploughman’s Spikenard is now in bloom, along with the dangling flowers of Wood Sage, dancing gently in the breeze, along with sprawling yellow mats of Kidney Vetch and the large, pink and white speckled Umbels of Wild Carrot.
A fairly warm start to the day, so despite the cloud and breeze quite a few butterflies already on the wing, including a Small Tortoiseshell basking on the Diagonal Path, a Peacock feeding on Hemp Agrimony further on, with Speckled Wood, Marbled White and Large Skipper also seen.
A Bloody-nose Beetle plods laboriously along the verge of the Clifftop Trail, eventually stopping to munch on a patch of flowering Madder.
A young Robin hops along ahead of me as I return up the Diagonal Path, darting forward to grab an Earthworm, which I hadn’t even noticed.