As I made my way up the hill this morning, once again, I found myself ascending into an increasingly foggy landscape, with the edges of the fields fading away into the mist, and the silhouettes of trees and bushes softened by the mist. The reduced visibility always concentrates the senses on sounds, and there were several times during the morning rounds, when the stillness was shattered by the manic cackle of a Green Woodpecker.
An hour spent with our Apprentice Catherine strolling round the woods this morning, where even this early in the year, there are plenty of signs of the turning year. The previously sparse woodland floor is now covered with ‘fifty shades of green’ as new growth starts to emerge. Lots of the large green leaves of Lords and Ladies seen, unfurling from tight green ‘cigars’ into large, shield-shaped leaves, alongside the grey-green leaves of Snowdrops, Bluebell leaves, the intricate leaves of Herb Robert (with a single pink flower also seen), with Cow Parsley and Dog Violet also in leaf.
Some plants are already in flower, including Hazel, covered in catkins or ‘lamb’s tails’, delicate, purple Spring Crocus around the Aviary Glade with my first Primrose of the year flowering in the Oak Glade.
Plenty of berries and fruits still to be found including orange Cotoneaster berries on Caravan Terrace, the glossy black berries of Madder along the Coast Path, the round, white berries of Snowberry on the Woodland Path and the amazing pink and orange berries of Spindle at the bottom of the Car Parks.
A nice variety of fungi also seen this morning, from the tiny crimson bowls of Scarlet Elf Cup, tiny black and white Candlesnuff Fungus, vividly coloured Yellow Brain Fungus and Many-zoned Polypore all growing on dead logs along the path.
A relatively quiet morning for birds; however, highlights included a good close-up view of a Goldcrest, spotted by Catherine near the Oak Glade, a Peregrine Falcon gliding lazily above the woodland above Durlston Bay and the brilliant plumage of a Jay, disappearing into the Holm Oaks above Caravan Terrace.