March is a ‘marching to the beat of a drum
Now that the Great Spotted Woodpecker’s come
Old woody is beating out time for the rest
For Blackbird, for Chaffinch, Robin and Goldcrest
I began my excursion at the Learning Centre this morning and no sooner had I started than I felt the unmistakable presence of spring in the air. A Willow tree was budding beside the Wildlife Area, with an adjacent Elder showing green young leaves. Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Green Woodpeckers were all audible with Dunnocks and House Sparrows also to be seen.
Moving off towards Long Meadow I passed a few early emerging Lesser Celandine and yellow Daffodils. A Wren danced across a Hawthorn branch as I passed, bobbing its little tail once before vanishing into a patch of Bramble.
I took some time to take photographs of Durlston’s Lichen population, too long neglected from our diaries if you ask me. First, the fruticose Evernia prunastri, more commonly called Oakmoss. Usnea subfloridana, or Old Man’s Beard Lichen was also present in small quantities. There was also a third species which I suspect was a Green Shield Lichen, but don’t quote me on that one. I am still a mere novice in this art.
The Woodlands were springing into life as well, with large patches of young Ramsons emerging from the forest floor. Great Tits, Blue Tits and Blackbirds were all singing happily, and I was delighted to hear the drumming of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, the first of the year for me. Further along the tip of a rotting log supported a few Oyster Fungi, flourishing with the recent heavy rains.
Past the Castle I noted a few patches of Glistening Ink Cap, as well as Primrose in flower along the verges. Moving on down the Coast Path the sky was draped in a spectacular medley of Altocumulus and Altostratus, the “Mackerel Sky” providing front porch forecasters with a warning for the heavy rain coming later.
Beside the Globe a few shoots of Great Periwinkle were spreading their leaves. Above the Tilly whim caves two Adders basked on a patch of brown earth, with a third almost invisible in the grass to their right.