A jaw-dropping sunrise this morning, with the sky over the sea blazing cherry red and gold and streaks of sparkling crimson dappling huge, steady waves with colour.
Glimpses of bright blue among a tawny cloudscape, with, unusually, a flock of arrowhead-shaped Starlings whizzing by overhead.
Down in the woods, my first Primrose of the year – just one flower amid a sea of fresh green leaves, with the leaves of Valerian, Cow Parsley and Lords and Ladies also appearing. On the downs, Winter Heliotrope is also starting to bloom.
Among the canopy, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Robins and Wrens are all waking up, with tiny Goldcrests among the Holm Oaks just outside the Castle – their bright yellow ‘mohicans’ catching my eye.
On Caravan terrace, the bright red breast of a Bullfinch catches the morning sun, from among the bare branches of Blackthorn above the ledge, with a Dunnock rustling through the undergrowth behind me.
As I ‘round the head’, the plaintive cry of a passing Oystercatcher rises up from Durlston Bay, with a Shag, silhouette against the brightening sea, looking very prehistoric as it flaps by.
Squadrons of black and white Guillemots whir in and out from the cliffs, where many more crowd the ledges, with a few Razorbills among the raft of Guillemots bobbing on the water below.
Fulmars wheel, stiff-winged above them, with Peregrine and Kestrel also on the wings, along with cackling, tumbling Jackdaws.
Returning to the Learning Centre, a Tawny Owl calls from deep within the darkness of a dense stand of Holm Oak, with the croaks of a Jay also heard.
If you are visiting today, the Castle is open as normal, but the café will be closed so that the floor can be repaired and will re-open on the 16th. Please bear with us – tea and coffee will be available in the atrium in the meantime.