A wild start to the day, with south-westerly winds scouring the park, bringing with them rain and even hail! A turbulent sky overhead, in shades from dark purple, to steely grey, with a few patches of brilliant blue hinting at a better day later.
The sea is criss-crossed with a net of white foam, with waves exploding against the rocks at Tilly Whim and Peveril Point trailing a line of savage white water.
Guillemots are crammed onto the ledges, with Shags and Herring Gull also battling the wind, with a few Gannets flapping steadily eastwards further out to sea.
At Tilly Whim, a Kestrel hugs the rocks, her feathers fluffed up against the cold and wind, with a few late patches of Wild Carrot looking somewhat out of place on such a wintry day.
On the downs, patches of waxy looking Field Blewitt drip with rain, with Shaggy Inkcaps also in fruit.
More fungi to be found in the woodland, with King Alfred’s Cakes – glossy and black on the trunk of a mature Sallow and Dead Man’s Fingers – a puffy, black-grey fungus growing on a rotten log.
Jays rattle among the canopy as they strip acorns from Holm Oaks, with a pair of Grey Squirrels chasing each other around a Sycamore.
Near the Aviary Glade, a Treecreeper shuffles mouse-like up a Lime, with a few Goldcrests also twittering among the high branches.
A female Blackbird tugs a worm from the Aviary lawn, which is carpeted with orange and gold leaves.
Splashes of colour in the hedgerows include the bright pink berries of Spindle, some starting to split to reveal their orange seeds, while the seedpods of Stinking Iris have split into bright orange stars.
Also seen, a Roe Deer browsing at the edge of the Rerservoir Copse as I arrived.