What a morning – dark and wet as I began my early patrol of Durlston, so off to the woods. Here the sound of a Goldcrest was the only sound to be heard. The high pitched calling drawing my attention to the tops of the Elm stand where these tiny orange flashed birds were flitting.
As I emerged towards the clifftops the ‘yaffling’ sound of a Green Woodpecker turned my head, to see this large green and yellow bird undulating across the field landing in the wet mud.
Out of the corner of my eye a movement of a Kestrel as it swooped down to capture something in its talons, gliding to land onto the wall to dissect whatever it had captured.
A fantastic view of a Peregrine Falcon was had as it soared at the height of my head around Durlston Head, allowing me to study the speckled chest, dark grey back and yellow beak as it went. Later it was perched on the cliffs gazing out to sea.
The cackling of Jackdaws was filling the air, while the growling and gargling of Guillemots could be heard as I got nearer to them. Well over a hundred of these black and white auks occupying the main breeding ledge and a few more scattered across the sea, appearing and disappearing as they dived and bobbed.
My highlight however this morning was the 3 Fulmars which were soaring along the clifftops. The short straight wings producing wonderful control. One Fulmar landed on the crocks and nestled into a nook, while another glided by cackling to it – such a wonderful sound which was repeated every time they went by.
The squeaky call of a Rock Pipit which was wandering by the Lighthouse added to the soundscape which by this point was dominated by the mooing of the herd of Hereford Cattle, which because someone had left a gate open have spread across the downland, adding more mud to the equation.