A glorious morning, with skies of infinite blue and sunshine sparkling on strings of dewdrops along the dark branches of Blackthorn and gleaming on pools of standing water in the meadows.
Signs of spring are starting to appear around the park. As I write, a Great Tit is checking out the nesting potential of one of the Victorian bollards just outside the office window, while to the other side, a House Sparrow is investigating our camera nest box. A mob of 6 male Blue Tits scuffle over territory in the middle of the road down to the Castle, with fragments of song from Chaffinches and Blackbirds, while Robins are becoming increasingly vocal.
Down in the woodland, some fine displays of Spring Crocus, along with the spiky green leaves of Snowdrops, delicate ferny leaves of Cow Parsley and Herb Robert, heart-shaped Dog Violet leaves and the ribbed leaves of Primroses (with lots more Primrose leaves pushing up from among the newly cleared scrub on Caravan Terrace).
A Buzzard wheels in lazy spirals above Durlston Bay, with a Shag flapping by below her, with a beak full of twigs and seaweed. The view from the woods if almost Mediterranean today, with superb views of the intricate beds of limestone in Peveril Point – to find out more about them, why not join our geology walk at 2pm today, starting from the Castle.
Near the Dell, a tall Sallow is covered in fluffy catkins, with Hazel catkins swaying gently in the breeze in the Aviary Glade.
A Red Admiral warms his wings up on a sheltered patch of Ivy along the drove, where a busy family of Long-tailed Tits bustle and jostle as they hunt for breakfast.
Goldcrests skitter among the canopy of Black Pine and Sycamore in the Large Copse, with the harsh calls of Jays echoing among the trees and a Dunnock scuffling through the leaf litter. Nearby, a Kestrel hangs in the air, so still as if she has been painted on, with just a few careful adjustments of her tail feathers and wingtips as she adjusts her position, balanced on the gentle breeze.
A Roe Deer bounds across the far side of the Saxon Field, while Badgers having been digging in the woodchips in the Large Copse.