A still, sunny autumn morning and from the moment I arrived on the Park, the skies overhead were filled with a whirling, twittering maelstrom of birds!
Swallows and House Martins twitter and chirp as they loop the loop and swerve high overhead – the swarms of Winter Gnats which are so numerous at the moment providing plenty of food. Once again, ‘charms’ of crimson and gold Goldfinches swirl around bushes or criss-cross the sky, filling the air with their jangling calls.
Also passing through, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Redpoll, Pied Wagtails and heard just outside the Learning Centre, the sweet notes of a Woodlark – the silhouette similar to a Skylark, but with a shorter tail. A Tree Sparrow also heard by Hamish.
Below Caravan Terrace, a Goldcrest darts among the scrub, along with Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits and a Song Thrush.
Around them, silvery Old Man’s Beard tangles around the stems of Sycamore, Ash and Hawthorn, which are strung with heavy ropes of brilliant red Bryony berries
Black Madder berries gleam in the scrub along the Coast Path, where some very late Great Periwinkle is still in bloom, along with a few Bramble flowers, alongside the last of the Blackberries.
The ‘cronk’ of a Raven heard as he flaps across Durlston Bay, with a Kestrel skimming above the treetops below him. Round the Head, a Peregrine sits almost motionless, occasionally swivelling her head to watch for prey
A few Gannets are passing by out at sea, while along the clifftop, Tamarisk is covered with dusty pink flowers, bobbing in the gentle breeze.
Still a few plants in bloom in the meadows including the tall yellow flowers of Rough Hawkbit, Bristly Ox-tongue and Ragwort.
A Red Admiral flutters around the banks below the Castle, while nearby a Southern Hawker whirs purposefully across the bridge to Caravan Terrace and a Great Green Bush Cricket perches on the stem of a Woolly Thistle on the verge.