My first task was to attach two large “Please shut the gate” signs on Lighthouse Bridge gate. Unfortunately, eight Hereford cattle escaped onto Lighthouse Green yesterday. Luckily two Coastguards helped Ali return the Herefords to the correct side just before darkness fell! Another job was to let the contractor into the castle to continue his work on the restaurant kitchen floor. The cafe is still closed but tea and coffee and light snacks will be available.
As the sun rose out to sea it reflected off the glass panel between the coastal wall on our clifftop Observation Point. During an electric fence line inspection, I enjoyed seeing the blow hole was active at the Gully Mouth. There was also occasional sea spray from buffeting waves. Flying low over the sea heading west were three juvenile Mediterranean Gulls in their “first winter plumage”. A black tail bar and darker wings tips brought me to that conclusion. Caravan Terrace rock face dripped with a multitude of miniature waterfalls. There were five full Primrose flowers with an equal number due to open soon.
There were several Bullfinch encounters today. A pair were below the dell bridge one of which might also have been the explorer off the gallery viewpoint. Beside the learning centre perched in a Sycamore was the pale grey nape and lilac breast. Back at the dell a Chaffinch made an appearance. Like an escapologist / contortionist a Grey Squirrel squeezed its body between the bars of the castle bird feeder having taken some peanuts. The mammal’s departure brought out a Robin, Blue Tits and Great Tits with only the later visiting the feeder.
Appearing from over Durlston Bay were two Ravens who continued up and over the castle. It was their calls that revealed their identities. In castle wood one black olive like fruit clung onto a Bay tree which also had buds still to open. I believed the colourful, translucent fleshy, jelly-ish fungi upon a log to have been a Yellow Brain Fungus. This was beside the castle woodchip path up to the centre. On Friday a pair us flushed two Snipe from the ground on the reclaimed landfill site. A Skylark had also put in a brief aerial vocal performance.