Fortunately, this morning’s weather was much better for today’s Xmas Pudding Plod Fun Run although routes were revised to avoid the most slippery surfaces!
From a Buddleia bush a male Great Tit called out from the Wildlife Garden. Transparent miniature baubles of water droplets decorated the branches of Bramble and Blackthorn. I heard the cackle of unseen Jackdaws and observed the creation of a fresh vapour trail in the sky above. I saw an orange / pink tinge to the sky whilst it appeared that three blue radials were being beamed into the sky from the former landfill site.
The Hereford Cattle were content in Saxon field with a good split between seaward and land ward facing sides. Inevitably Robins tutted and Wrens trilled from the scrub cover. Blackbirds were most obvious at the margins giving alarms calls when required! I noted two Magpies perched upon a dry stone wall and they appeared to be observing one of the adjacent cattle. I could hear the cattle tear up grass with their tongues and observed another munching on fresher Bramble leaves, not afraid on the thorns about its snout!
A third Magpie came in and briefly landed on said herbivore before departing with its partners! One Rabbit appeared to be chase off another. However, they both might have set off on a long run whilst only the second one turned tail and dove into the scrub. Elsewhere, I found Fox leavings which certainly contained Rabbit fur! Woodpigeons perched in the field edge scrub some of them amongst the Ivy ready to pluck off the berries. Today white Candlesnuff fungi fingers protruded from the meadow amongst Thistles and Brambles which were attempting to colonise the grassland. A good thirty stems of Wild Cabbage still displayed yellow flowers upon the wares. It was a Kestrel which flew down the gully heading towards the sea whilst Woodpigeons observed from the Sycamore beside Lighthouse Road Bridge. Despite yesterday’s heavy rainfall there was no Winterbourne this morning! A high flying Cormorant flew east along the coastline whilst the Herring Gulls and Great Black Back Gulls travelled the opposite way just off the cliffs. Whilst the Guillemots cave ledge was empty five of the rapid wing flapping birds travelled to and from other parts of the cliff face. David reported two Fulmars having been off the cliff tops.