Another morning of fog and drizzle, the paths have once again turned slippery and muddy. As I wandered down to the cliffs a Grey Squirrel scampered up the rough trunk of a Holm Oak, while a Rabbit bounded across the wet grass.
The sound of a Dunnock wafted through the air, the singing coming from a large patch of Old Man’s Beard, the long tendrils rambling over the top of the bank.
A very smart male Chaffinch, with grey-blue and buff pink colouring was perched on the back of one of the wooden seats, producing a sudden burst of fast-fast-quick-quick-slow music. A female perched nearby on the Tamarisk, her white wing flashes the most obvious feature.
At sea, two superb Gannets soared past, as they headed eastwards their pristine white wings and backs brilliant against the dull grey sea. These massive seabirds close enough in to be able to see their pale yellow heads and almost blue beaks.
Soaring around the tops of the cliffs were 3 Fulmars, buzzing and cackling to another which was sat slumped in a nook as they passed by.
Action from the Shags as they too were flying about, along with 3 Greater Black-backed Gulls – 2 on the cliffs and another in flight – another massive bird to admire.
Halfway up the cliffs on the large ledge were about 40 Guillemots, still coming at going, and not likely to settle until the end of the month.
Watching all this action from the rock face was a Peregrine Falcon, gazing into the distance, perhaps waiting for an unsuspecting Feral Pigeon to arrive and provide breakfast.
As I returned up the hill a Stonechat was noisily ‘chatting’ from the nearly blossoming Blackthorn, while Great Tits were producing their most common call of ‘teacher-teacher’ from the newly leafed Hawthorn.
Trundling up the road was a Greater Bloody-nosed Beetle and a surprising number of Earthworms - possibly Aporrectodea caliginosa but there are a large variety of different species to identify.