A wonderful summer morning, with blue skies, a gentle breeze and some brilliant sunshine sparkling on the waves.
Around the park, Meadow and Field Grasshoppers sing from the grass, with a Long-winged Conehead seen neat the Learning Centre – another pointed out to me yesterday by a visiting expert, who explained that in dry summers (like this one, mostly!), many individuals would grow extra-long wings, to allow them to travel further in search of food or mates. An incredible female Great Green Bush Cricket also seen – the second largest UK insect, as long as my index finger.
Down on Caravan Terrace, a Speckled Bush Cricket perches on a tangle of Bramble and Old Man’s Beard, as Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and Holly Blue butterflies feed on and around a flowering Buddleia.
In the grassland below, dense patches of Marjoram attract Buff-tailed Bumble Bees, as a Whitethroat pops in and out of the vegetation, with a Jay whizzing just overhead with a shriek as I watched.
In the hedge above the Terrace, the bright red berries of Wayfaring Tree are particularly eye-catching, with Sloes and Blackberries also in fruit.
Among the base of many hedgerows, the beautiful but poisonous berries of Lords and Ladies can be seen – clusters of green, red and orange, while the fruits of Woody Nightshade are also starting to appear.
A Buzzard calls above Durlston Bay, while along the clifftop, the rather scruffy looking yellow flowers of Plowmans Spikenard are in bloom.
Returning along the Diagonal Path (accompanied by the sound of popping Gorse), Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs dart among the hedges, with a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, uncannily like a tiny bird whirring along a sheltered patch of scrub. As I write, a Painted Lady feeds on a Buddleia just outside the office window.