Even on a grey day in December, there is still plenty of colour to enjoy during the morning rounds. The vibrant pink and orange berries of Spindle can be found around the Park, while the stems of this shrub are also rather attractive. Out on the downs, constellations of bright red Cotoneaster berries catch my eye, while bright yellow Gorse is in bloom along the Diagonal Path.
The brilliant, iridescent blue wing feathers of Jays stand out in the gloomy conditions – drawn to Durlston from across the countryside (and occasionally from as far afield as France!) by the plentiful Holm Oak acorns available here. Crimson Hawthorn berries adorn the hedgerows, while the downs, short grazed at this time of year are a pale gold.
Our herd of Herefords have now been moved out to the downland fields for Christmas, where they have their heads down and are munching away at Tor Grass, helping maintain conditions for the thousands (or maybe tens of thousands!) of Pyramidal Orchids in June, along with many other rare or important species.
One of the youngsters has a nice mud toupee, most likely left over from where he has been scratching his head on a Yellow Meadow Ant hill!
A Sparrowhawk veers around a patch of scrub and is gone, with a Kestrel hovering overhead, and the harsh ‘cronks’ of a Raven flapping ponderously through a misty sky.
Returning along the Drove, a male Pheasant explodes, clucking and chattering out of the bushes just in front of me and charges along the path ahead.
In Taskers a small flock of 7 or 8 Redwing are feeding from the tall hedgerow, while a ‘charm’ of Goldfinches are working their way along the bottom of the field.
A Peregrine perches like a Gargoyle on the cliff edge below the Observation Point, but otherwise the cliffs seem very quiet, until the arrival of a mob of Jackdaws, squabbling as they circle above the cliffs.
Also seen on the wing, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Bullfinch.