A very mild, grey start to the day, with some sunshine filtering through a sky full of cobbled clouds.
Just outside the Centre, Blackthorn is starting to burst it’s buds, while among the network of tangled branches, my eye is drawn to a flash of movement, as a Goldcrest darts through the centre of the scrub, his brilliant yellow ‘mohican’ showing well against the dark background.
A Robin holds forth from the top of the bush, with Chaffinches ‘warming up’ nearby. A Song Thrush scuffles through the leaf litter below, with the chuckle of a Green Woodpecker echoing across the Car Parks, with one of their ‘cigar ash’ droppings, filled with shiny pieces of Yellow Meadow Ant ‘armour’ on a nearby anthill.
High overhead, a few Swallows pass through, newly arrived from Africa, along with a couple of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits
Around the Car Parks, Lesser Celandine is in bloom – hundreds of golden starbursts shining out from among the grass, with Grape Hyacinth and Field Speedwell brightening the short turf.
In the woodland, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drums near the Aviaries, with a Sparrowhawk hurtling across the path just in front of me, before disappearing among the trees.
A quick trip down to the Observation Point, where Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars and Great Black-backed Gulls are all on the wing.
Above the meadows, Skylarks are in song and holding territory – if walking out there, please keep your dog on a lead or at heel, to avoid disturbing these endangered ground-nesting birds.
Just outside the window as I write, a pair of Blue Tits hurry in and out of our camera box, preparing to raise a family, while just next door to them, a House Sparrow is investigating the eaves, calling out to a mate, somewhere in the scrub.