A glorious sunrise with the array of colours including pinks and purples with gold adding a gilt edge. As the morning progressed the sun rose giving a golden aura.
As I walked out across the meadows the wonderful sight of a Sparrowhawk greeted me, this dark female glided gently over the hedges, hugged the edge and then swept through a gateway, barely a sound to be heard from it or the other birds as it passed by.
Swallows and House Martins galore today, watching these birds is just an awesome sight as they sweep up and round, many of them just passing by my head as I stood beneath a hedgerow. The white rumps of the House Martins easily spotted as they passed, hundreds and hundreds counted.
Taking flight from the recently cut field was a flock of Meadow Pipits, emerging one after from the new hay. In the blackberry covered Bramble patch near the pond 2 Common Whitethroats, a Dunnock and a Robin were seen and a Raven soared overhead croaking loudly to announce its presence.
Warming themselves on the large green leaves of the Ivy, were 3 Red Admiral butterflies, the black and red wings looking brilliant in the sunlight, whilst flying by was as Large White and a tatty Meadow Brown butterfly.
In the large copse the high pitched calling of Goldcrest was coming from high up in the Black Pines, good views were eventually had of our smallest bird, patience required as they constantly hopped from needle to twig appearing and then just as UI found them disappearing again.
While watching them Long-tailed Tits were also active in the canopy, the chittering of these comical and acrobatic birds adding to the sound level.
Best of all though was a Spotted Flycatcher which was flitting up hovering and then dropping again, over and over as it caught small insects in the air.
The strangest sound however this morning was that of ‘clipping’ this tracked down to a herd of 200ish Nordic Walkers marching down the lighthouse road, alongside tapping of poles on tarmac was the constant chatter of voices delighted to be out and about on the National Nature Reserve.