Sea breeze comes ashore as the sun rises
Sea breeze blows once more, it brings no surprizes
Sea breeze treats you kind with its gentle embrace
Sea breeze calms the mind as it blows on your face
As the day marches on the breeze will turn round
When the temperature rises upon solid ground
But then night will come to take back what land borrows
And I’ll have sea breeze for all my tomorrows
Today was pleasantly and unexpectedly warm, with a small group of Jackdaws cruising leisurely above the Car Park. I scanned the nearby Ash and Hawthorn trees to try and locate a Robin I could hear pipping away, a flock of Goldfinches passing overhead as I did so.
Crossing on to south field a few patches Squinancywort were nestled among the grasses. I had a little look around for Puffballls, but none have yet appeared. Interesting fact: the Latin name for one of the main Puffball genus’s is lycoperdon, which translates to wolf-farts in English. A little bit of trivia there.
I continued to the Downlands, passing by a few Skylarks hovering above the Meadows. A Meadow Pipit launched itself from the hedgerow and crossed the path in front of me, shortly followed by a Blackbird emerging from a tangle of Wild Clematis.
The Downlands were still home to a few Knapweed and Field Scabious blooms, but little else remained in flower save the Gorse bushes. Swallows and House Martins were massing again, their forms constantly criss-crossing the sky above. Their migration reminds me of the phases of the moon, with the population slowly building and then dropping again in a steady cycle.
Heading down to the Lighthouse Road I enjoyed the feel of the sea breeze on my face and noted a few Carline Thistle growing near the Lighthouse. By the Gulley a Sparrowhawk skimmed over the ground with a pair of Carrion Crows in pursuit. There’s a reason they’re not called crowhawks.
Back at the Learning Centre I glimpsed a Song Thrush sitting by the fence of the Wildlife Area, and long grass beside the paths I trod were wrapped in fronds of Meadow Bindweed, no longer in flower. One of our volunteers reported seeing a Short Eared Owl last night. Apparently they also fly during the day. Would the other species say they were real “day owls?”