A warm, still morning, with just a whisper of wind stirring the mist which hangs over the Park, pooling in hollows on the downs and rolling slowly down the slopes of Durlston Bay.
As the rounds continued, the mist cleared overhead to reveal a sky streaked with high cloud and some brilliant autumn sunshine.
Once again, Swallows and Martins swirl overhead, spiralling upwards as the mist lifts as they prepare for the long journey ahead. Hundreds of Goldfinches in ‘charms’ of 20 or 30 ‘tinkle’ like bells as they pass over, descending to feed on the seed-heads of Bristly Ox-tongue, Burdock, Teasel and Woolly Thistle.
On Caravan Terrace, a large family of Long-tailed Tits (sometimes known as ‘flying toffee apples’) bustle through the branches of a Sycamore, with Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chiffchaffs also seen or heard. A Song Thrush calls out his melodic, repeated call ‘There’s the Wise Thrush/He sings each song twice over’, while Stonechats 'chat' from the Gorse.
Among the grass, dew-covered Carline Thistles gleam like gold, while on anthills, Wild Thyme is still in bloom.
A Kestrel serves along above the tree-tops on Durlston Bay, before being dive-bombed into a dog-fight with a pair of Crows, while further round the Clifftop Trail a Raven is being hassled by a small but noisy gang of Jackdaws.
A Shag perches on a ledge above the gently lapping waves, bathing in the morning sun, with a Cormorant flapping past overhead.
Along the clifftop, Blackcaps dart in and out of the scrub, which is draped with fruits and berries. Glossy strings of orange and green Bryony berries hang from branches like strings of beads, with the crimson berries of Honeysuckle and the large, shiny black berries of Madder.
Blackthorn is covered with dusky blue Sloes, while Hawthorn looks magnificent at the moment, covered with bright red Haws.