Outside the office window was the flush of Bluebell flowers whilst the pair of Blue Tits continued to travel to and from the nest box.Immediately outside both a Chaffinch and Blackbird explored the grassland whilst a Whitethroat called out from the scrub.
Perched upon a drystone wall at the entrance to the wares was a Wheatear with its eye band. Upon the wares a good six inch tall Early Purple Orchid flower spike was difficult to ignore. Upon the gully slope scrub I believed that it was a Red-backed Shrike that I viewed briefly. Shrikes may pin up spare food such as Small Mammals upon branches, thorn even barbed wire and return to this “larder” when required. What I thought was Twite was not quite and was reliably informed they were most likely two pairs of Linnets instead! A brief look out to sea revealed two Gannets which seemed to circle off Anvil Point before continuing west.
Plenty of Hartstongue fronds were out as far as three metres from the shade of the scrub thus exposed on open ground with tips still to uncurl. However, I suspected scrub had once been there in those location. Whilst there were Dandelion “clock” seed heads only fresh Dock and Burdock leaves were showing Some Lady’s Bedstraw, with its delicate yellow cruciform flowers, was at risk of being smothered by a carpet of non-climbing Old Man’s Beard fresh dark stems. This growth was the determined relic from that once cleared scrub that hid a wall. The leaves and tendrils of the usual grassland climbing vetches were evident.
Cattle are still grazing in Field 10 and in keeping the domineering grasses down they are creating space for future flowers and patches of bare ground for basking and burrowing insects. A good flush of Wayfaring Tree (shrub) flowers / inflorescence was visible below the electric fence line and I recalled the Pear beside Lighthouse Bridge showing blossom.
Within the gully bottom there were plenty of robust Sycamore buds still burst open with leaves and flowers. A male Stonechat was spotted beside Lighthouse Green as was one of the many repeat occurrences of Whitethroat. Today one Green Woodpecker took flight downhill using the Lighthouse Road as a run way. A male cock Pheasant called out from the gully.