An invigorating start to the morning, with a strong north-easterly breeze blasting freezing rain across the Park – lovely!
Nonetheless, a few brave young runners made it up for this morning’s ‘Durlston Dash’ - one of our regular running events for 8-13 year olds (the next one will be in May, when hopefully the weather will be kinder!)
A stroll around the woodland to check the route, before they set off, revealed signs of spring increasing around the woods. Primroses are scattered across the woodland floor – flowering before the canopy closes, like many woodland plants. A few Dog Violets are also in bloom, at the edge of a huge ‘shoal’ of the glossy green leaves of Ramsons, or Wild Garlic. Fresh leaves of Herb Robert, Three-cornered Leek, Cow Parsley and Lords and Ladies also carpet the woodland floor.
Here and there, some vivid patches of Yellow Brain Fungus stand out among the wet, grey branches, with the more discreet Dead Man’s Fingers, King Alfred’s Cakes and Candlesnuff Fungus also seen.
Near the Aviary Glade, a few beats of ‘drumming’ from a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard from high up in a Sycamore, with Coal Tit, Great Tit, and Blue Tit seen nearby.
In the shelter of Caravan Terrace, Long-tailed Tits forage among the scrub, as a Raven passed by below. Walking back across the bridge, the branches of a Sallow are starting to fill up with fluffy catkins.
Lots of white horses chasing across a steely sea, with a Peregrine Falcon whizzing along below the clifftop. Out in the distance, a pair of brilliant white Gannets cruise by, with Great Black-backed Gulls and several Fulmars carving through the gusts with ease.
Closer to the cliffs, Guillemots and a few much blacker Razorbills bob on the water, as both Shag and Cormorant pass by.
If you don’t fancy the Great Outdoors this morning, why not enjoy some of the wonders of Purbeck’s wildlife, from the comfort of the Gallery, with an exhibition by local wildlife photographer Julian Sawyer.