A very different morning, with the sky draped with sheets of rippled grey cloud and a few spots of rain as I started the early rounds this morning, leaving the distinctive sweet earthy smell known as ‘petrichor’ – the smell left after rain falls on hot ground.
With barely a breath of wind, the cliffs in particular seem hushed and silent, with a few young Shags preening and stretching on a platform of rock just above the gently lapping waves. A Herring Gull is also sorting out his plumage on a rocky outcrop just below the clifftop, sending feathers tumbling down the cliff face.
Further out to sea, a Gannet passes by – huge and bright white against a background of muted grey, with the stillness shattered by the blood-curdling screech of a Peregrine, hurtling past Tilly Whim.
A few Goldfinches twitter as they hopscotch along the scrub above the Coast Path, with the persistent ‘ticks’ of a Stonechat heard from among the Gorse.
Along the Diagonal Path, a few butterflies are on the wing, despite the lack of sunshine, with Lulworth Skipper, Large White, Common Blue and a Red Admiral - feeding on the large, dense flower-heads of Hemp Agrimony.
Also in bloom along the verge, the white flowers of Yarrow, chunkier umbels of Wild Carrot, yellow spikes of Agrimony and tufts of bright purple Greater Knapweed.
Plenty of colour on the downs, where ‘dusty looking’ Red Bartsia borders many of the paths with pink, tall spikes of pink-flowered Great Willowherb (with their distinctive plus-shaped stamens) grow alongside walls and the short turf is studded with Dwarf Thistles.
The hedgerows are covered with a tangle of Old Man’s Beard, with it’s pretty creamy white flowers, along with orange Honeysuckle flowers, and strings of Bryony berries – still glossy green at the moment.
A quieter morning for birds, however a few signs that autumn migration is not too far away, with the bird ringers recording good numbers of Garden Warblers (a bird somewhat unfairly described as ‘distinguishable by it’s lack of distinguishing features’!), along with lots of Willow Warblers, a single Chiffchaff and Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat.