Active Blue Tits remained undisturbed on the opposite side of the wildlife area fence. A sweet scent reached me as I approached the warm ash pile from yesterday’s bonfire. Six youthful Swanage Duke of Edinburgh Award Volunteers helped clear scrub so that we might rediscover the eastern boundary dry stone wall of south field. The cattle had already at least found a break in said wall hence our need to find and repair it!
A Green Woodpecker flew silently over the adjacent Ant Hills soon to fly back again with a partner. A third waffled from reservoir copse whilst later I saw another upon the wares. A splendid sunrise was seen from south field going through plum, red and pink to an eventual golden orange glow. The island of scrub within the centre of said field had a Bullfinch at its Blackthorn bush tops.
Hereford Cattle were in the Goat Plot and upon the Wares. Several reached over the dry stone wall to browse on Ivy and Bramble in the Thorn. One cow pushed deep into the scrub beside the Mile Marker Gate to feed on Wild Madder with its berries. Seven Jackdaw shared the top of the lower Mile Marker whilst another ten perched upon the ladder or lattice work. At most I counted thirty such birds today. Some forty five Guillemots were observed in their cave ledge with a linear raft of eight upon a choppy sea. A Herring Gull occupied the seaward corner of the cave whilst below a Great Black-backed Gull perch on a ledge. A pair of diving Razor Bills swam close to the cliffs independent of the other sea birds. Two Chiff Chaff flitted amongst the Tamarisk beside the Tilly Whim steps.
Crossing the gully two Wood Pigeon perched upon an over wire whilst Jackdaws were upon the insulators. Further in land a Raven croaked and flew inland. A Kestrel made a brief appearance flying westward over the line of quarrs. Under a thin piece of Limestone I disturbed a small Centipede, whilst under a thicker imbedded stone I reveal docile Red Meadow Ants and their chambers. As I approached the weather station at least eight Redwing flew off towards Reservoir Copse