A thick blanket of fog hangs over the Park this morning, muffling sound, though not enough to hide the sound of the cows, which Catherine and I spent a half hour chasing through damp and dewy meadows after an early morning walker had left a gate open.
As a result, this morning’s early rounds were all around a few of the meadows, but as May turns to June, there is still a dazzling variety of wildlife to be found just in that corner of the Park.
Cobwebs are draped above the grasses in the meadows and strung with beads of dew, above the tiny, intricately flowered Quaking Grass, which glitters and trembles. Great swathes of Yellow Rattle are also in bloom, alongside thousands of ‘Raspberry Ripple’ Common Spotted Orchids.
Delicate blue Pale Flax stands tall, though not as tall as Tall Fescue – one of the largest grasses on the Park, already almost up to my chest in places, with the blooms of Rough Hawkbit blazing out of the grass like hundreds of tiny suns.
Hidden among the tangle of vegetation, a stunning fresh Southern Marsh Orchid, while plants are flecked with Cuckoo Spit – each blob of froth contained a tiny green-gold Froghopper.
On a stem of Cocksfoot, the golden chrysalis of a Six-spot Burnet Moth – soon, the meadows will be filled with a blizzard of these eye-catching, day-flying moths.
In Saxon Field, dozens of the tiny Adders Tongue Fern – a little like a dolls-house version of Lords and Ladies, among a stand of furry-leaved Fleabane.
In the hedgerows, white sprays of sweet-scented ‘May’ or Hawthorn blossom are now joined by (to my nose!) even more delicious smelling Elder flowers.
On the short turf in the Saxon Field Quarry, Eyebright, Early English Gentian, Milkwort and Horseshoe Vetch make for a colourful and varied carpet.
No time to get down to the cliffs this morning, so looking forward to our seabird boat trip this evening!