A neighbour’s waste bin had fallen over on Lighthouse Road and the carpet of contents were being investigated by a pair of Carrion Crows.
Near the centre, scrub clearance had revealed a Meadow Ant hill that had long obscured a marker post. Thanks to the Ants the No Cycling sign was hidden. Amongst the bird chatter were the calls of Chaffinches across the car parks. Beside Long Meadow the branches of a Silver Birch had a good dozen Witches Burrs, some of which resembled nests but clearly not those hanging below the branches. The standing dead stem of another Silver Birch showed increased Ivy cover beginning to cloak the two Cinder Cap (Polypore) Bracket Fungi. Said fungi contributed to the tree’s loss of its crown.
Beside the wooded coast path the view from the Brady bench showed white water about the ledges and along the shore. At the Cuff bench a cold blast of wind came from Durlston Head, where a Herring Gull flew just off shore. A pale orange glow between the horizon and cloud indicated that the sun was out there! Upon the bow of Holm Oak, that had grown parallel, there were several pools of water. I guess these could be called tree pools! Later a puddle sat upon a Holm Oak log suggesting impermeable properties. Apparently, the Romans used this hard timber for cart wheels and farm tools.
A Great Black Back Gull passed over the castle car park. A male Blackbird flew low across long meadow, from one hedgerow to another. The calls of Carrion Crows rung out with exchanges between the coastal woods and meadows.
Cheilymenia granulata fungi were seen as small circular orange spots upon a cowpat. In the thick hedgerow dividing Taskers and South Field a group of Long Tailed Tits took great interest in the Ivy.
In Saxon Field a Song Thrush landed in a Sycamore. Initially its undulating flight made me think it was a Green Woodpecker but its speckled breast confirmed it as a Thrush. I found a Buttercup flower having lost only one of its five petals.