Today, a most familiar trill
Skylarks, they are calling still
Welcome in the Autumn chill
Summer echoes from the hill
I entered the park amid the mixed calls of Great Tits and Blue Tits, including the first “squeaky wheelbarrow” song that I have heard this season. A Grey Squirrel zigzagged back and forth on the road a few meters in front of me, crossing first right then back left in its flight. These animals naturally zigzag when fleeing to baffle hunting birds. It’s effective at dodging the talons of raptors but unfortunately very bad for avoiding cars. Lucky I was walking.
A few chirping Goldfinches could be heard from the Holm Oaks along the coast, while alongside the footpath a Horse Chestnut was dropping its leaves, most having turned almost completely brown. Crossing the Car Park I was delighted to see a couple of Haresfoot Inkcaps emerging from one of the verges. Magnificent.
The bird ringers were in residence, though they reported a slow morning of captures. Nevertheless, they’d bagged a Linnet, Song Thrush and a trio of Blackcaps. Not bad for a foggy morning if you ask me.
I headed out towards the Gulley next, intending to skirt around down to the Lighthouse Slope to hunt for more fungi. A few stubby stems of Meadow Barley protruded from the paths and a patch of Yellow Charlock was in flower next to Ox Eye Daisy Meadow. A Jay screeched from somewhere in the misty valley below as I rounded onto the Downs.
Lighthouse Slope unfortunately didn’t have the fungi I was looking for, though there was plenty else to see. A Skylark trilled above the field, with a Meadow Pipit or two fluttering around as well. On the Tamarisk beside the lighthouse I spied a Chiffchaff, Stonechat and a third bird that shall remain unidentified. A few Carline Thistle could also be seen on the green.
I returned via the Clifftop Trail, passing a photographer who reported sighting a Peregrine Falcon earlier that morning, as well as a Rock Pipit. As I passed the Castle I heard a stir to my left and saw two Roe Deer bounding away into the undergrowth. Passing through the woods I came across a Mystery Fungi. Time to get my ID book out.