Another stormy winter morning – just the thing to blow the cobwebs away! ‘White Horses’ gallop across a steely sea, with white water foaming at Durlston Head and Tilly Whim. Inland, even the larger trees sway and dance with White Poplar in particular looking spectacular as the wind reveals the silver underside of its leaves.
The woodland is alive with sound as larger Holm Oaks and Sycamores creak and groan, while twigs and leaves rattle and clatter and the sea “roaring high and low, like a giant asleep” (a quote from Thomas Hardy’s journal describing a visit to Durlston).
Grey Squirrels scramble and chase through the branches, with a Jay shredding twigs and leaves in search of acorns. Near the Aviary Glade, a white flash catching my eye turned out to be the nape of a Coal Tit, with Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches also foraging in this more sheltered spot.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker perches motionless on a tall Sycamore, with Dunnock and Blackbird seen scuttling across the woodland floor, turning over leaves in search of breakfast.
Near the Castle, a few Goldcrests weave through a sheltered patch of woodland, with Long-tailed Tits also on the wing.
Along the cliffs, a rather bedraggled-looking Peregrine Falcon clings to the cliffs, with Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Shag and Gannet passing by.
A gaggle of Jackdaws circle the clifftop, at first giving the impression of being blown around like leaves, but a few minutes observation showed that they were actually in perfect control as they wove and surfed the gusty winds.
The ‘cronk’ of a Raven heard from somewhere overhead, while Badgers have been digging up the woodchip path between the Learning Centre and Castle.
Near the Walling Centre the slotted footprints of Roe Deer found in a muddy patch of path, with a lovely patch of bright orange Stinking Iris seeds brighten the dark Blackthorn hedge.