A fresh spring morning, with a gentle breeze and sunshine filtering through a sky of dappled cloud.
Swallows whiz by overhead, as Skylarks carol above the meadows, filling the air with torrents of breathless song. Whitethroats rattle their ‘scratchy’ song from hedgerows and scrub, with the continuous ‘reeling’ of Grasshopper Warblers heard from the Large Copse and along the Drove.
Also singing or calling, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, Chaffinches and Blackbirds.
A Buzzard wheels slowly above the back meadows, with the cackle of a Green Woodpecker echoing across the valley.
A glossy black Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabeus) crawls along the Drove, her carapace tinged with hints of violet, with lots of Bloody-nose Beetles also out and about.
Tides of yellow Cowslips cover the meadows, with the delicate blue flowers of Pale Flax and Bulbous Buttercup also starting to appear.
The downland is dotted with hundreds of Early Purple, Early Spider and Green-winged Orchids.
On the shorter turf, bright red and yellow Birdsfoot Trefoil (or ‘Bacon and Eggs’) is starting to appear, along with some early Horseshoe Vetch, with the unusual, geometric heads of Salad Burnet and the tiny, dark blue flowers of Milkwort.
Along the field edges, Cow Parsley and Wild Parsnip are newly in flower, with the ‘May’ or Hawthorn blossom also bursting it’s buds.
Along the clifftop, Guillemots and Razorbills bob on the water or whir in and out on flickering wings, as Fulmars wheel above them, with Rock Pipits skittering along the clifftop.
The pink flowers of Thrift are starting to open, clinging to the cliff edges, with blue Great Periwinkle along the path.
A quick dip into the woods, where Ramsons form some fine displays of white flowers, filling the air with their ‘garlic’ scent.