All is quiescence
Human and wild take their rest
A little longer
Happy Christmas everyone. I arrived to break Durlston’s annual hiatus under dark pre-dawn skies. Stepping into the Woodlands my ears were flooded with song from Robins, with a few Great Tits, Blue Tits and a Song Thrush mixed in with the dawn chorus. I passed The Shed where some Velvet Shank had recently emerged and continued uphill, noting some particularly resplendent Yellow Ear Fungi on the way.
A few hoots from a Tawny Owl were audible as I departed the cover of the trees, stepping along the path to Long Meadow where Dunnocks skipped along the tarmac. A pair of Hen Pheasants fluttered noisily away from me as I made my way out onto the Meadows proper. I’d had a particularly delicious serving of Goose for dinner a few days prior, perhaps they smelled something that spooked them.
Squelching through mud and Moss laden soil I continued my journey. Bullfinches were audible, their forms elusive but their calls discernible amid the quieter conditions. Goosegrass was sprouting liberally about the park, soft young shoots only beginning to develop their signature hooks. Crow Garlic was also becoming more prolific and I noted a few Wild Carrots in flower, a somewhat surprising sight.
Fungi were also managing to put in a few appearances, with a few suspected Deceivers growing beside a section of dry stone wall undergoing repairs. I say Deceivers, small brown mushrooms are the bane of any mycologist. They’re a bit like yellow wildflowers.
I was more confident in my id of some Brown Mottlegills growing on dung from our Hereford Cattle, as well as a Snowy Waxcap growing along the butterfly transect. Bullfinches were active here as well, their flashing white rumps identifying them without need of binoculars.
Along the Cliffs the waves were again forceful. Not quite the stormy, awe inspiring sight of a few days ago, but still a relentless hammering against the almost sheer Portland stone. There’s so much power contained within them, you can almost feel it as you watch.
Whilst back in Devon enjoying Christmas with my family I was lucky enough to come across a suspected Golden Waxcap at Woolacombe.