A tranquil start to the day, with just the gentlest breath of wind ghosting through the meadows, making the calls and song of Field and Meadow Grasshoppers and the chatter of birds seem especially loud.
A fine morning for our ongoing bird-ringing study, by the Stour Ringing Group, who ringed a record 17 Grasshopper Warblers, along with the first Nightjar ringed here!
Elsewhere around the Park, Blackcaps are greedily gobbling up Elderberries, with Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats darting in and out of the scrub.
The hedgerows are now a glorious, colourful tangle of Old Man’s Beard (now covered in pale lime flowers), the flowers and fruits of Honeysuckle, along with Brambles laden with Blackberries, the crimson fruits of Hawthorn and Wayfaring Tree, while Blackthorn is now covered with ripening Sloes – a dusty dark blue.
The meadows are still full of colour – make the most of them as we will be starting our annual hay cuts soon. Dark purple Knapweed, huge white umbels of Wild Carrot, tangled Restharrow and the golden seedpods of Yellow Rattle can all be seen. In the Paddock, a stem of Dog Rose is adorned with one the fluffy red ‘pom-pom’ Robin’s Pincushion galls (the home of a slowly growing Gall Wasp).
On the downs, Woolly Thistles tower over seas of bright yellow Fleabane, while the shorter turf is studded with Eyebright, Centaury, Yellow-wort and Stemless Thistles.
A Raven croaks from the top of the Mile Markers, with the harsh croak of a Jay and blood-curdling shrieks of a Peregrine Falcon also heard nearby.
At sea, Gannets glide slowly by, with Shags, Great Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull also seen.
Returning along the diagonal path, a colourful charm of Goldfinches bobs along just ahead of me, with a noisy, squabbling family of Long-tailed Tits seen near the bottom of Goat Plot.