It was a dull start as the sun was smothered behind a blanket of cloud. The initial poor light meant I saw the silhouettes of many hedgerow birds! Mist hung over the inland part of Ballard Down. Beside the centre a pair of Carrion Crows were perched in a Sycamore. Another bird flew in and clung to the trunk thus having to be a Woodpecker. Once the crows departed, I saw a Green Woodpecker exploring out onto the tree’s branches.
Durlston’s Meadows could collectively be renamed “Much Squelching” thanks to the impermeable clay soils retain surface water! Meanwhile, water droplets were most noticeable upon the thorns and resembled tiny crystal baubles. As both I and a Magpie headed into South Field our Green Woodpecker was heard “laughing” it waffle.
It was hard to see who was in the hedgerows, however, a little patience paid off a revealed a tiny bird flitting between the thorns and lichen. Its colourful bright yellow Mohican like head stripe revealed it to have been a Firecrest that jumped between the twigs. A pair of Meadow Pipits flew over and drew my attention to the pinks and purples colours of the clouds. The cloud was high enough such that a heavily laden coaster was seen upon the horizon and St. Catherine’s head was a distant silhouette.
Beside the Hay Rake Quarr I spotted a pair of Bullfinches and another of Chaffinches amongst the Blackthorn, Elder & Bramble scrub. Herring Gulls provided their coastal calls from near Southcliffe Road. Virtually ever hedgerow seem to possess a Blackbird perched upon century duty. When a pair of Robins were within a metre of each other a snippet of bird song was emitted. Another Green Woodpecker was spotted as it flew east and low past the shallow quarry scrape to then perch in a Sycamore. I noticed in another such tree how it retained the dangling stalks which must have been the remains of seed masts. The calls of unseen Magpie and a Cockerel rung through the still, chill air.
In Saxon one Yarrow flower stem and yellow Gorse flowers upon an island clump added some colour. In the hedgerows Rosehips were obvious winter bird food. Under the cover of the Small Copse, Stinking Iris had dropped some of its fruits. I was delighted to eventually find a hand full of Winter Heliotrope in flower by the copse. I bent down and inhaled the marzipan scent of said flowers. As I meandered down to the castle a pair of Blue Tits emerged from an Elm, then later beside the timeline there were some solid Blackberry fruits still!