A picture paints a thousand words within the human mind
So picture fifty agile birds with a half-moon set behind
The camera failed to convey this scene across to you
I have forty words today and they will have to do
I elected to drive in to the park today and had to engage in a bit of slalom as I navigated the car park. Several Grey Squirrels decide the best time to cross the road was about two feet in front of me. Fortunately, I did manage to avoid them. A few small groups of Goldfinches passed overhead as I began my foot journey, with several Magpies perching in the treetops.
Chaffinches called from the hedgerows in South Field and I was fortunate enough to spy a Wheatear on the Dry Stone Wall. Also visible were Chiffchaffs and a bird that I believe was a Yellow Browed Warbler, but I only caught a brief glimpse so treat it as an unconfirmed sighing. Another Warbler danced around a patch of Bramble, completely lacking in distinct features. Most likely a Garden Warbler then.
Next up I passed our beloved Hereford Cattle, the soft scrunching sound of their grazing feeling oddly relaxing to the mind. Cows always seem very contented when they have a field full of fresh grass to tuck in to.
I continued on down to the Gulley, spying a Jay next to the Mile Markers, a Rabbit scampering off into the shelter of a Blackthorn bush and a bit of flowering Red Clover at my feet. Swallows and House Martins were massing again by the Lighthouse, criss-crossing the sky above with a beautiful half-moon in the background. I lay on my back with a camera trying to capture an image of this beautiful scene, but each picture came out as a pure sky blue, the moon and birds too faint to show. Some things you just have to see.
I made it back to the Coast Path covered in Burdock burrs and passed the Tilly Whim Caves, spotting a Wall butterfly fluttering along as I went. I also heard a Chiffchaff in full song, a very pleasant pair of notes indeed. I returned to the Learning Centre via the Woodlands, again disappointed by the lack of Fungi. I did however see a Clouded Yellow butterfly on the Buddleia by our office window. It didn’t stay long.