A walk to work across meadows sparkling with frost in the morning sunshine and crunching underfoot in a very satisfying way!
A fantastic sky overhead, with a huge north-south ‘coast’ of grey cloud, meeting a ‘sea’ of brilliant blue, with trails of high cirrus disappearing off to the horizon.
In the hedgerows, sprays of dark crimson Hawthorn, silver Old Man’s Beard, sulphur yellow Bramble leaves and orange star-link seed pods of Stinking Iris make a surprisingly colourful palette.
As the sun starts to warm the hedges and scrub, Long-tailed Tits, Blue, Great and Coal Tits are all emerging, along with ‘charms’ of colourful Goldfinches. Also seen this morning around the meadows, Chiffchaffs, Wren, Robins, Blackbird, Dunnock and Song Thrush.
On Caravan Terrace, the brilliant red plumage of a Bullfinch catches my eye among the dark scrub, with several Goldcrests busy among the canopy nearby.
Down on the cliffs, a Perergrine Falcon streaks out to sea, sending a wave of concerned chatter through a group of Jackdaws.
Nearby, the gentle growls of Guillemots rises up through the still air, with dozens crammed onto the ledges near the Dolphin Watch Hut. Below them, Shags preen on a rocky outcrop as Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls circle above a gently lapping sea.
Returning to the Centre, a Green Woodpecker bobs across Long Meadow – a bouncy flight, as if suspended on a piece of elastic!
As food gets harder to find, Badgers have been searching for dinner among the woodchip paths, with a Roe Deer freezing to watch me in the Saxon Field, before bounding away into the shelter of a patch of Blackthorn.
As I write, a Blue Tit investigates the nest-box just outside the office window, and the distinctive triangular silhouettes of a passing flock of Starlings caught out of the corner of my eye.