Another glorious morning, with a gentle breath of wind wandering through the meadows, carrying the honey scent of Lady’s Bedstraw, the rich Oregano smell of Marjoram and stirring the dry, bronze heads of Yellow Rattle.
Butterflies galore, including lots of Ringlets fluttering around Caravan Terrace – a dark chocolate brown, adorned with bright gold circles, along with my first Painted Lady of the summer.
Further round the head, a Dark Green Fritillary sips nectar from Hemp Agrimony, with Red Admirals, Peacocks, Marbled White and Meadow Brown all on the same stand of flowers.
Large, Small and Lulworth Skippers are all making the most of the profusion of dark purple Greater Knapweed flowers along the Coast Path, with dozens of red and black 6-Spot Burnet Moths blurring to a haze of pink.
Speckled Woods dogfight over patches of dappled shade, with Large White, Small Heath and Common Blue also seen on the wing.
Just a quick glance in last night’s moth trap looked promising – will have a proper look later, with the Swanage Rainbows, but a few near the top included Elephant Hawk Moth, Poplar Hawk Moth, Brown-tailed Moth, Common Footman and Silver Y.
A young Kestrel pecks at the clifftop vegetation just below the Observation Point, with one of the parents on the wing nearby.
Guillemots (and a single Razorbill) straggle across the water, with half a dozen on the ledges above, with Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Shag also on the wing.
The short clifftop turf is carpeted with Wild Carrot, with Quaking Grass trembling in the gentle breeze along the diagonal path.
Fruits are starting to ripen in the hedgerows and scrub, with Bittersweet covered in red and green berries, Wayfaring Tree, with sprays of reddish fruit and the fruits of Hawthorn and Blackthorn also starting to ripen.