Durlston Park is public land, we all own it together
And it takes work to make it grand, and keep it grand forever
Too many to name are those that do, and do it all for free
But every time someone comes through, their work is clear to see
Today we say goodbye to one who’s really passed the muster
Who toiled hard so everyone can share in Durlston’s lustre.
A Song Thrush was singing outside the Learning Centre as I embarked upon my combined morning human/wildlife survey. Not much of the former but plenty of the latter. The weather was again cold and crisp with a bracing easterly wind. Just the thing to encourage me to keep up a good steady pace.
Long Meadow was alive with Robins as usual, with a decent crop of Chaffinches also happily chirping away. A Jay secreted itself in the foliage of a Holm Oak up above, electing not to split the still morning with its harsh screeching cries.
Inside the Woodlands Blackbirds were the dominant presence, making short undulating flights between shrubs and flashing their orange beaks. The Scarlet Elf Cups were still going strong on the footpath margins and beyond them the brown earth was punctured by hundreds of Ramson shoots. Spring Crocuses kept up their display of colour by the Aviaries, and a few timid Herb Robert flowers were also on show. The Woodlands are getting livelier by the day.
The Clifftops were very cold and blustery after the relative shelter of the trees. I’d recommend two coats today. Jackdaws and Herring Gulls were the most numerous presence, with the Guillemot ledge vacant this morning. A few Shags duck dived for their breakfast, and a single intrepid Rock Pipit was pitched and tossed on the rising air beside the cliffs. Plucky little chap.
Above the Tilly Whim Caves there is a patch of Blackthorn, with Ivy growing below it. Just to the right is a dead Teasel with a white stone nestled at its base. Next to that stone, an Adder was coiled, the black diamond pattern along its body providing excellent camouflage. If you are passing today, take a look at that spot and maybe you’ll see it.