In March the dawn comes sooner, by 8 the sun’s high in the skies
Though winter is dark
I love seeing the park
Bathed in light from the morning sunrise
The Woodlands provided welcome protection from the elements as I entered the park. The light rain of the morning pattering gently on the canopy above. Though the colour scheme lacked variety, I was struck by the verdant beauty of the leafy understory. Hartstongue Ferns glistened with moisture, soft Ransoms protruded from patches of bare earth and all around the trees were clad with cloaks of Ivy. Very pretty.
The usual chorus of Robins and Blackbirds rang out from the undergrowth, and I was happy to pass a thriving fungi colony on a fallen tree, with Yellow Brain Fungus and a splendid patch of Hairy Stearum on display.
Next, I crossed the Car Park where Chaffinches and Blue Tits were the main performers. A tiny patch of yellow on one of the grassy verges caught my attention, and it turned out to be the emerging flower of a Lesser Celandine. One of the finest decorations the Car Park has to offer, I’m glad to see them putting in an appearance.
I headed down along the Clifftop Trail past a very pleasant patch of Primroses. At Durlston Head a Dunnock was perched prominently atop the Tamarisk, illuminated nicely in the early morning light. A Cormorant sailed past, heading westward to do whatever it is that Cormorants do. Further along I counted seven Guillemots bobbing on the water, though when I got to look at the ledge it was empty.
Several Fulmars were circling above the waves, with a Shag making a low skimming eastward flight over the water beneath them. Above both, a Peregrine Falcon nestled on the clifftops, looking a little bit cheesed off with the rainy morning. I managed to get in fairly close and catch a great view of it launching into the air and gliding over to the Tilly Whim Caves.
I took a few lesser trodden paths back to the Learning Centre, following the Gulley up to the top. A Rabbit bounded into the safety of a Hawthorn thicket when I approached, and I caught sight of another trio of Dunnocks playing in the boughs of an Ash tree.