Take a look, then look again, there’s more to see for sure
If at first you don’t perceive then take another tour
Familiar grounds show wonders new to those who pay them mind
So take a look, then look again and see what you can find
I have returned. Today was an early start as I was taking the first and second shifts of our ongoing visitor surveys. A heavy fog had settled on the landscape with visibility of around 50m when I started out. Great Tits, Chaffinches, Robins and Blackbirds were all seen but not heard as I headed up from the castle to Long Meadow, catching the faint strains of a Goldcrest on the way.
Winter is slowly loosening its grasp on the landscape, with a few Dandelions on show, as well as Goosegrass and the rough leaves of some freshly sprouted Bristly Ox Tongue. Further into the Woodlands I saw fresh fronds of Herb Robert and a few Spring Crocus in flower. I turned my head towards a rustle in the undergrowth to see a Roe Deer emerge, the creature stopping about 50 yards from me. We exchanged a stare before it turned and loped away. You’ve got to get up early if you want to see the really good stuff.
Returning to the Castle I passed two highly vocal Wrens at the base of a Sycamore, as well as an attractive section of dead hedge currently under construction as part of the Pleasure Grounds Project. It’s a job I enjoy, so hopefully I am needed.
The fog was still hanging thick as I traversed the Clifftops. It was so thick that I couldn’t see the Guillemots as I passed above them, though I could both hear and smell them. Jackdaws, Greater Black Backed Gulls, Shags and Fulmars all loomed out of the mist periodically and as I rounded by the Tilly Whim Caves a Peregrine Falcon passed overhead, its stockier body form giving it away.
My second round revealed new sights. The fog had thinned allowing me to count the Guillemots on the water. Approximately 30 with around 10 Razorbills as well. More importantly I discovered a few Scarlet Elf Cup in the woods that I’d somehow managed to walk right past before. I’d love to write a diatribe about Durlston fungi now, but something tells me you’d like me to wrap things up now. Nagat Zuul.