The morning sun breaks on the downs, as it has and ever will
The light of day spreads fourth again on field and stack and hill
After a year of Durlston dawns, their beauty is none diminished
A lifetimes worth of Durlston poems would be a work unfinished
Pink topped low clouds parted revealing bright blue sky, a promising start to a sleepy Sunday morning. The sky and hedgerows were filled with an abundance of bird song as Doug and I strolled through the meadows. Blue Tit, Blackbird, Great Tit and Robin filled our ears with their beautiful morning calls. A Dunnock sat happily above an Ash tree (Fraxinus Excelsior), while a Chaffinch darted through the Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa).
The Corsican Pine (Pinus nigra) stood grandly in the Copse hiding beneath it Velvet Shank, Rosie Crust and Jelly Ear laying amongst dead wood of the woodland floor. The soft morning sun shining on Ballard down was a stark contrast to the dark stormy sky set over Bournemouth and Poole.
We followed the sound of a Song Thrush with a brief sighting. The park is full of exploring trails and secret paths some known only to those who created them. We followed one to uncover the recently cleared Johnson Pond, now thriving with Common Cleavers (Galium aparine). The outlined shape of a Chimp sat atop a far hedgerow in the park, then to be joined by an inquisitive Buzzard, the original figure still questionable!
Low cloud sits flat on the sea, while the top shines bright white from the early morning sun. A Goldcrest appears close and inquisitive of our presence jumping around in the Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna).
A gaggle of Jackdaws call and dance around a Sycamore Tree (Acer pseudoplatanus), while a couple of Robins sing from the gully scrub.