Squeak squeak orange beak
Has a black and white physique
Flies low to water, size of a duck
Can you guess it? Are you stuck?
If you find you still can’t match her
I’ll tell you the answer: Oystercatcher!
The bird ringers were in the Wildlife Area this morning, always a welcome sight. They’d made a good few captures including a few Whitethroats, as well as a Greenfinch and a Bullfinch. Well done those bird ringers.
A few Fleabane had finally come into flower after months of teasing, adding yet more yellow to the wildflower medley. Common Vetch and Restharrow added a little purple and pink variety to the mix. Thirteen Jackdaws soared overhead as I strolled. Maybe I should keep my head down this Friday.
I spotted a couple of Gatekeepers on the wing, as well as a Small Skipper and the usual bounty of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns. Wooley Thistles displayed their purple flower head whilst below, Greater Knapweed and Field Scabious played host to hungry Six Spot Burnets.
I crossed over the Downlands, the sound of distant Skylarks rolling over the rolling terrain. Wild Parsnip and Ladies Bedstraw added yet more yellow to the landscape as I descended towards the Lighthouse, a Kestrel soaring above on the light breeze.
Dry Kidney Vetch and Thrift covered most of the Clifftops, with some fleshy Yellow Samphire apparently standing up better to the drought. A Rock Pipit fluttered off the cliff edge, with a Herring Gull looking on from atop the waves. A few fishing boats chugged along by, much quieter than the pleasure craft that sometimes go roaring past. I also caught a snatch of a loud “pweep-pweep-pweep” call from an Oystercatcher zooming eastward, passing the raft of Guillemots at impressive speed.
Returning via the Timeline I heard the rustle of a Blackbird among the leaf litter, tossing up beakfulls of dry Holm Oak leaves, presumably in a search for food. A few Fuchsia flowers hung from the bushes, reminding me of my old walk to school in the village where I grew up.