A perfectly still morning greeted me today, not a breath of wind, the trees still and the sea silent, only the sound of various birds disturbing the peace and quiet – except for a couple of dogs barking in joy at being out!
The loud squawking of two Jays alerted me to these colourful birds, the white rump easily noticeable as they flew away, one then banked to show off its blue wing flash, while the other perched in the branches of the Field Maple its buff chest face on.
A clump of Old Man’s Beard, the long brown tangled matt of rope like tendrils dotted with white wispy lumps of its long-over flower heads, from the midst of this came a burst of loud song, a trill on the end allowing its identification – a Wren which then popped out to the edge, the short upright tail and brown plumage contrasting with the bright stripe above its eye.
As I walked towards the Gully and Lighthouse a whistle from above called the Bullfinch to my attention, I was then able to watch this superb bird fly ahead, this another of the few birds with white rumps. As it landed in between the thorns of a Hawthorn its pink chest almost glowed.
Looking out to sea the effects of the light and the clouds made for a beautiful sight, with patches of pale pink, grey, white and brown in patterns across the flat water.
Skimming low above this colourful array were a group of 4 long necked Shags, the outline of this black-looking bird quite distinctive. A small squadron of black and white Guillemots flew above the Shags as they went on a foray.
Just beginning to circle above Durlston Bay was a Buzzard lazily flapping and gliding as it rose into the sky, the pale undersides catching the light as it travelled upwards.