What a relief it was to wake-up to sunshine this morning! Though with a bit of a chill in the air, it was a shame my coat was still a bit damp from yesterday. I’m sure the weekly work party volunteers are still drying out from an unlucky streak of three wet wednesdays pulling Ragwort!
I set out on my walk towards the meadows and through the large copse. A few Woodpigeons passed overhead, drawing my attention to a couple of Ravens quietly perched on the hedge. In the wood, the chatter of Tree Sparrows amongst the canopy took over from the sound of the wind outside.
I could hear a low hum of crickets out in the meadows, though I didn’t spot a great deal of bugs myself with the exception of a relatively small Great Green Bush Cricket standing proud amongst a low patch of Fleabane, Bird’s Foot Trefoil and Red Clover. I continued along the footpaths lined with Red Bartsia, Red Clover and Agrimony. A part of me is looking forward to seeing the fields cut this month to stop picking the seeds out of my shoes!
Next my stroll lead me to the Meadow Pipit’s nest I found a few days earlier. Last time I checked I could just see one bird staring back at me, but to my delight today, I saw four little beaks nestled amongst the grass! Can you count them all in the photo below? I continued my walk towards the cliffs, hearing the characteristic calls of a Stonechat and impressive flight of a Black-backed Gull overhead.
As I head back up the diagonal path, a few butterflies had started emerge for the day, including Meadow Brown, Common Blue and a Painted Lady. Just past the large blooms of Hemp Agrimony, a dark glimmer on a fresh ant’s hill caught my eye – some kind of beetle perhaps? To my disappointment the shine flew away in the form of a fly. Though I realised a female Common Lizard on the hill, sunbathing above the grass!